Since the beginning of the year, incoming data have generally shown positive signs for moderate growth in the US economy. There were ups and downs; however, surprises were mostly to the upside and economists upgraded their consensus real GDP growth forecast for 1Q 2012 to 2.5-3.0% from 2.0-2.5%. Stronger-than-expected increase in wholesale inventories and a sharp decline in real imports in February were the reasons cited.