The U.S. economy grew a bit faster than previously estimated in the first quarter as consumer spending posted its strongest gain in almost 17 years and prices for goods and services crept higher, the government reported Thursday. In its final tally of gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the economy, the Commerce Department said that GDP grew at a 5.5 percent pace in the quarter, slightly faster than its tally of 5.4 percent a month ago. Wall Street forecasts were for unchanged reading of 5.4 percent. A key measure of inflation, the price deflator, rose at a 3 percent annual rate, above the 2.7 percent pace initially recorded and economists' forecasts.