Bush Says U.S. Economy Is Strong, Resilient

President Bush Friday called the U.S. and world economy strong after American gross domestic product jumped 3.4 percent in the second quarter and despite a sharp sell-off in global stock markets.

"The world economy is strong and I happen to believe one of the main reasons why is because we remain strong," he said after meeting his economic team at the White House.

Bush called the U.S. economy "large, flexible and resilient" and said it has benefited from increased exports, particularly by farmers.

The Commerce Department reported that U.S. economic growth rebounded during the second quarter to its strongest pace since the beginning of last year.

A day after U.S. stocks suffered their second worst decline this year, stocks on Wall Street were mixed at the open on Friday as the tone among investors remained nervous.