Companies took in more orders and stepped up production this month in an indication that demand will sustain the U.S. expansion after a fourth-quarter pickup, Bloomberg reported.

The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. said today that its business barometer climbed to a 10-month high of 64 in February from 60.2 in January. Readings above 50 signal expansion, and the figure exceeded all forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey.

The U.S. Commerce Department raised its annualized growth estimate for the final three months of 2011 to 3 percent from 2.8 percent.

Income gains in the second half of 2011 were stronger than previously reported, which could bolster household purchases, which make up 70 percent of the economy, Bloomberg said.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled today to Congress that recent signs of strength won’t change the central bank’s view that low interest rates are necessary through 2014.

“We’re continuing to see moderate economic expansion driven by an improvement in the labor market,” said Conrad DeQuadros, a senior economist at RDQ Economics LLC. “Even with growth at 3 percent, the Fed remains concerned about the outlook with the unemployment rate high, and that’s the driver of their … monetary policy.”