The US economy has been boosted by the government’s $168bn (£84bn) stimulus package, according to the US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

Official figures showed that gross domestic product (GDP) rose at an annual rate of 1.9% between April and June, up from 0.9%.

Mr Paulson predicted that the US economy would get stronger next year “and beyond”.

The figure was worse than expected and caused shares to fall.