WASHINGTON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. current account deficit surged in the third quarter as a record rebound in consumer spending pulled in imports, outpacing a recovery in exports. The Commerce Department said on Friday the current account deficit, which measures the flow of goods, services and investments into and out of the country, widened 10.6% to $178.5 billion last quarter. Data for the second quarter was revised to show a $161.4 billion shortfall, instead of $170.5 billion as previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the current account gap increasing to $189.0 billion in the July-September quarter. (Editing by Alex Richardson)