The growth was twice as fast as economists expected, suggesting that consumer spending was recovering after a slow third quarter.
Indeed, recent sales figures have been coming in stronger than expected, suggesting that growth could be still higher.
The figures, which were about double what most economists expected, suggested that the European economy was demonstrating a resilience that seemed unlikely as recently as last autumn.
Figures released last week showed that the economy contracted more slowly in the second quarter than many economists had expected, suggesting that the downturn might be bottoming out.
On Friday, two economic reports, retail sales and producer prices, came in stronger than expected, suggesting that the economy was not slowing as much as feared.
Despite continued sales erosion, AT&T's overall results were better than expected, suggesting that it was beginning to win customers from troubled rivals like WorldCom.
Late last month, banks paid back 137 billion euros of the loans, more than expected, suggesting that at least some banks were able to raise money on their own.
[C8.] Starts of New Housing Drop 1.3% Starts of new housing fell 1.3percentt in October, less than analysts had expected, suggesting that the home construction industry continued to buttress the economy.
In a minor surprise, Mr. Muir found corrosion on the cars to be lighter than expected, suggesting that New York's thicker-skinned cars might last as long as 28 years.
The month-to-month falloff was twice as steep as executives surveyed before the Sept. 11 attacks expected, suggesting that Japan's economy is cooling off as fast as the United States economy is.
