New figures from the United States show the country's economy grew by 1.7% in the second quarter of the year.
That was stronger than the previous three months, and better than financial markets expected.
A slowdown was widely expected due to the impact of federal spending cuts, but also from the continuing weakness in the global economy, the BBC reports.
In Europe, unemployment in the 17 countries that use the euro fell by 24,000 in June.
It was the first fall in more than two years, but the euro zone still has more than 19 million people without a job.