Goldman Sachs Lowers US Economic Growth Forecast Again After One Month to '5.7% This Year'

[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Goldman Sachs has once again downgraded its forecast for the U.S. economic growth rate this year in less than a month.

According to Bloomberg News on the 6th (local time), Goldman Sachs lowered its forecast for the U.S. economic growth rate this year from 6.0% to 5.7%. This is a further downgrade in less than a month since it lowered the forecast from 6.4% to 6.0% in mid-last month. Goldman Sachs also slightly raised its year-end unemployment rate forecast from 4.1% to 4.2% this year.

Economist Roni Walker explained, "U.S. consumers appear to be facing a much more difficult situation than previously expected," adding, "Consumer spending is expected to decrease further due to the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant."

He said, "There are factors limiting strong consumer growth," and "The Delta variant is already affecting the growth rate in the third quarter of this year." He added, "The reduction in fiscal support and the slowdown in the recovery of the service industry will also be headwinds to growth in the medium term."

However, Economist Walker slightly raised the forecast for U.S. economic growth next year from 4.5% to 4.6%. He predicted that suppressed consumer demand in the second half of this year will be unleashed next year, resulting in a higher growth rate than previously expected.

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