US growth outlook cut running into next year

[OhioChick]

Source: Reuters

14 Jul 2010, 2259 hrs IST,REUTERS

NEW YORK: Recent evidence the economic recovery may be slowing has prompted analysts to scale back their expectations for the pace of growth into next year, a Reuters poll showed.

Persistently high unemployment, along with disappointing May retail sales data and evidence that the housing market continues to struggle have contributed to a significant reining in of expectations compared with just a month ago.

The median of forecasts in a survey of almost 100 economists taken in the past week pegs annualized U.S. second-quarter gross domestic product at 3.3 percent, down from 3.5 percent in the last Reuters poll taken in June.

GDP growth is expected to ease to 2.6 percent in the third quarter (from 3.0 percent), 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter (2.8 percent), and 2.6 percent in the first three months of next year (2.7 percent).

For the full year 2010, the median of forecasts for growth was chopped to 3 percent from 3.2 percent in the June poll. That was the first downgrade in the last eight polls but the range of forecasts was narrower, indicating a hardening view.

"There has been some concern about a tightening in financial conditions and how that is filtering through to consumer and business confidence and the economy," said Jonathan Basile, economist at Credit Suisse in New York.



Read more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/US-growth-outlook-cut-running-into-next-year/articleshow/6168972.cms

[ChromeFoundry]

1. K&R n/t