US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have hailed the special relationship enjoyed by their countries.

They also praised each other for a shared commitment to fixing the international economic crisis after meeting in Washington on Tuesday.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown speaks during meeting with US President Barack Obama in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC.[Mandel Ngan/CCTV/AFP]

The two leaders spoke to reporters in the Oval Office, following a private White House meeting.

Obama compared the stock market to the daily tracking polls used during campaigns.

And he said that paying too much attention to how Wall Street fluctuates daily could lead to bad long-term policy.

Barack Obama, US President, said, "What I'm looking at is not the day to day gyrations of the stock market, but the long-term ability for the United States and the entire world economy to regain its footing."

Obama said he's more concerned about whether lending is flowing more freely, businesses are investing and the unemployed are going back to work.