Robust business and consumer spending has powered a surge in the US economy in the third quarter delivering growth of 8.2 per cent.
The figures, much better than predicted - up 5.5 per cent on the last quarter - represent the strongest quarterly surge in nearly 20 years.
Reinforcing the impression that recovery was gaining hold in the US, a separate private-sector report found consumer confidence hit a year-high peak in November, buoyed by hopes of improved hiring prospects. And Corporate profits made the biggest jump in more than a decade.
"The GDP numbers today are encouraging and they are obviously very positive," White House spokeswoman Ms Claire Buchan said but Buchan played down the thought that such a sizzling pace of expansion will continue.
"I don't think anyone necessarily anticipates that that number will be a number that you'll see in the coming months," she said.
In early afternoon trading, stock and bond prices remained stubbornly muted despite the positive data, with traders still wary whether a sharp economic rebound will last.
One sour note came from the housing sector - one of the economy's mainstays in the crawl back from recession in 2001 - where sales of existing homes dropped sharply by 4.9 per cent to 6.35 million in October.