(CNN) –– The US economy grew last quarter, recovering after contracting in the first half of the year.

Gross domestic product — a broad measure of economic activity — rose at a 2.6% annual rate in the third quarter, according to preliminary estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday.

This figure represents growth from a decline of 1.6% First of all quarter of the year and negative 0.6% Second Three months.

According to Refinitiv Consensus Estimates, experts forecast 2.4% growth in the US economy in the third quarter.

The welcome economic growth was mainly driven by a rebalancing of imports and exports, with fewer foreign goods sent to the US as consumers held back spending on sofas, bikes and other durable goods amid the pandemic and returned to buying trips. Restaurants.

“It’s this kind of GDP report that should cheer us up at this point,” Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research said in a note.

“However, as the Federal Reserve continues to raise rates, the impact of previous hikes is yet to be felt, and this may be the last positive report we see for a while,” he added.