Atlanta Fed upgrades U.S. second quarter GDP view to 2.8 percent

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is on track to grow by a 2.8 percent annualized rate in the second quarter following a stronger-than-forecast 0.5 percent rise in retail sales in May, Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDPNow forecast model showed on Tuesday.

The latest GDP estimate was higher than the 2.5 percent pace calculated on June 9, the regional Fed said on its website.

The May increase in retail sales raised the regional Fed's forecast on personal consumption expenditure in the second quarter to 3.9 percent from 3.5 percent, it said.

Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy.

Investors had worried about a drop-off in consumer spending in the second quarter following a report that showed the weakest monthly job gain in more than 5-1/2 years in May.

On Tuesday, the government said retail sales grew at a solid clips across a broad categories of goods and services.

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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