Fresh reports depicted a buoyant economy as consumer confidence, new home sales, and durable goods orders surpassed forecasts.

The Conference Board, a New York based research group, said its consumer confidence index rose to 98.9 this month from 85.2, the biggest rise in more than two years. Purchases of new homes jumped to a record last month, and orders for long-lasting equipment such as aircraft and machinery rose twice as much as predicted, according to Commerce Department data.

“Coming after the energy shocks and Katrina, it’s a remarkable spring back,” the chief U.S. economist at Lehman Brothers, Ethan Harris, said. “The economy seems to have an underlying resilience.”

Declining fuel prices are boosting confidence and spending, bolstering expectations for economic growth this quarter.

Shoppers splurged over the Thanksgiving weekend at discount retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores. U.S. Treasury securities fell after the reports signaled Federal Reserve policymakers will keep raising interest rates.

The statistics fly in the face of polls showing that many Americans say the economy is in recession. A survey by the Manchester, N.H.-based American Research Group found that 43% of those questioned said the economy was in a recession, while 44% said it wasn’t.

Sixty-two percent said they disapprove of the way President Bush is handling the economy, according to the poll of 1,100 adults conducted between November 19 and 22.

Economists at Morgan Stanley boosted their forecast for economic growth this quarter to a 3.8% annual rate from 3.1% after the durable goods report showed an increase in sales of business equipment and a rise in inventories.

Durable goods orders increased 3.4% after a 2% decrease in September. Sales of new homes jumped 13% last month to a 1.424 million annual rate.

All three economic indicators exceeded economists’ median forecasts in Bloomberg News surveys. New home sales were predicted to fall to a 1.2 million rate, confidence was forecast to rise to 90.2 from a previously reported 85, and durable goods orders were almost three times the 1.5% estimate.

U.S. Treasuries fell after the reports bolstered speculation the Fed may raise interest rates at least two more times. The reports put an end to a two-day rally that pushed 10-year yields to the lowest in five weeks.