The International Monetary Fund has trimmed its outlook for U.S. growth during 2011 on surging oil prices and restrained labor market growth, according to Reuters. On Monday, the IMF released its World Economic Outlook that revised its forecast for U.S. growth this year to 2.8%, which is lower than the 3% expectation offered by the group in January. The lender said, “Recovery in the labor market remains lackluster,” although accommodative policy from the Federal Reserve was expected to help offset the weight of oil price increase on growth.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that a survey of economists showed that the U.S. economic is expected to gain momentum over the rest of 2011. The 56 economists polled expected to see 2.7% growth in the first quarter of the year after 3.1% growth the previous three months, which is down substantially from the 3.6% forecast for the same period made two months earlier. The poll showed a median expectation for growth of 3.6% in the fourth quarter of 2011 as employment lowers to 8.3% and temporary headwinds abate.
Click here to read the story on the IMF report from Reuters.
Click here for coverage of the US growth forecast from The Wall Street Journal.