9:22am UK, Saturday April 11, 2009
After a meeting with top economic strategists in the White House, Mr Obama said the US appears to be pulling itself out of a paralysing recession.
He stopped short of declaring the downturn is bottoming out but offered a more upbeat tone than he has recently done on the state of the financial system.
"What we're starting to see is glimmers of hope across the economy," he said.
"We're starting to see progress, and if we stick with it, if we don't flinch in the face of some difficulties, then I feel absolutely convinced that we are going to get this economy back on track," he said.
But he remained careful to emphasise the great strain still resting on America.
"Now, we have always been very cautious about prognosticating, that's not going to change just because it's Easter.
"The economy is still under severe stress," he said.
Sky News' US political analyst Jon-Christopher Bua said: "The President's comments suggest there may be reason to believe the US economy has hit bottom and could be beginning to rebound.
"Among the many reports the President received were the results of the 'bank stress tests' which were designed to determine if a bank would fail if the economy got worse or did not improve soon.
"These results may have painted a better picture than most were expecting."
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