US gross domestic product probably expanded at a 2 percent annual rate.
American Economists say the US growth likely slowed a bit in the third quarter as consumers and businesses spent less.
US gross domestic product probably expanded at a 2 percent annual rate, according to a Reuters poll of economists, dropping from a 2.5 percent clip in the second quarter.
The Department of Commerce said Thursday that the economy lost momentum even before October’s 16-day government shutdown.
Experts say that the partial government shutdown damaged the economy to large extent, predicting that the nation would see less-than-expected growth this year.
“There are no signs that the economy is picking up,” said Thomas Costerg, a US economist at Standard Chartered Bank in New York. “If you add the shutdown to an already subdued underlying trend, it’s difficult to see the economy taking off in the near term.”
The economy grew at a 1.8 percent rate in the first half of 2013.
“What you saw in the third quarter will be continued in the fourth quarter,” said Doug Handler, US chief economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts. “We expect the tapering to begin somewhere in the first quarter of 2014.”
The government shutdown cost the economy about $24 billion, according to Beth Ann Bovino, an economist at Standard & Poor’s.
Economists believe if US officials expect growth to pick up next year, the economy should benefit from no additional tax hikes, though federal spending is expected to be tightened further. They also argue that housing should remain strong and businesses must spend more and invest more in new equipment.
But consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, is forecast to have expanded at its slowest pace in 2-1/2 years. It only grew at a 1.8 percent rate in the April-June period.
ARA/ARA
Source: Press TV