US Economy Entered Recession in February... Trump Says "Next Year Will Be the Greatest Year"

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Baek Jong-min] It has been determined that the U.S. economy entered a recession as early as February. Meanwhile, the Donald Trump administration is welcoming the rise in the U.S. stock market and emphasizing a rapid economic recovery.

According to the Wall Street Journal and others, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a nonprofit private research organization that assesses the U.S. economic situation, announced on the 8th (local time) that the U.S. economy has ended its 128-month expansion phase. This means that the expansion phase of the U.S. economy, which lasted about 10 years since the global financial crisis in 2009, has come to an end.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Typically, if the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate declines for two consecutive quarters, it is classified as a recession. The U.S. GDP growth rate fell from 2.1% in the fourth quarter of last year to a negative (-) 5% contraction in the first quarter due to the impact of COVID-19. Most experts expect an even larger negative growth rate in the second quarter.

Regarding the U.S. second-quarter growth rate, investment banks Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan have forecasted -34% and -40%, respectively. The World Bank revised its global economic outlook released that day, projecting the U.S. economic growth rate for this year at -6.1%.

The NBER explained that although the recession may be shorter than in the past, the unprecedented scale of employment and production declines and their impact on the overall U.S. economy provide grounds for designating it as a recession.

On the other hand, the U.S. stock market continues to rise daily as sentiment grows that the economy will recover quickly. On this day as well, the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the New York stock market was up by about 1% compared to the previous day. The Nasdaq index hit an all-time high. Tesla, the leading stock in the U.S. stock market rise and an electric vehicle company, also rose about 6% on this day, re-entering the $900 range.

U.S. President Donald Trump also welcomed the strong stock market. Through a tweet on this day, President Trump claimed, "It is a great day for the stock market. Smart money and the world know that we are going in the right direction. Jobs are coming back quickly. Next year will be our greatest year."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.