Top forecasters cut their outlook for U.S. growth and ramped up inflation expectations for the second half of 2005, but said the impact of hurricanes Katrina and Rita should prove short-lived, a survey released on Monday showed.
The Blue Chip Economic Indicators newsletter said “a large majority” of economists polled this month are convinced the economy is unlikely to dip much below its trend rate over the next five quarters, despite the storms’ devastation.
The consensus forecast for third-quarter gross domestic product growth was cut to a 3.4 percent annual rate from 3.6 percent a month ago, while the fourth-quarter outlook was trimmed to 2.9 percent from 3 percent.
