WASHINGTON – The economy grew at a lively 4.3 percent pace in the third quarter, the best showing in more than a year. The performance offered fresh testimony that the country’s overall economic health managed to improve despite the destructive force of Gulf Coast hurricanes.

The new snapshot of economic activity, released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday, showed the growth at an even faster pace than the 3.8 percent annual rate first reported for the July-to-September quarter a month ago.

The upgraded performance reflects more brisk spending by consumers and businesses as well as more robust investment on residential projects than initial estimates revealed.

President Bush welcomed the latest economic news, saying: “America’s workers and businesses have overcome the challenges of two hurricanes and high energy prices.”

“In anybody’s book this is an outstanding performance for the economy,” agreed Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics.

A Federal Reserve report suggested the economy exhibited solid momentum in October and much of November, too.

Manufacturing, retail sales and hiring improved in many regions, the Fed said. However, while remaining healthy, housing activity slowed in many markets; demand for home mortgages eased in some areas. The Fed’s observations added to other signs of a gradual cooling of the hot housing market.

Consumer prices increased moderately in some areas as certain businesses passed along to shoppers a portion of their higher energy costs, the Fed said. “Persistent … price pressures” for energy and other materials used by businesses were reported in most regions.

The third-quarter’s showing marked a sizable pickup from the 3.3 percent increase in gross domestic product registered in the second quarter. GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States.

The 4.3 percent growth rate matched the performance posted in the first quarter of 2004. The last time economic activity was higher was in the third quarter of 2003, when the GDP soared at a blistering 7.2 percent pace.

The upwardly revised reading for GDP in the third quarter also exceeded the expectations of business analysts. Before the report was released, they were forecasting the economy to clock in at a 4 percent pace.