US economic data expected to show more weakness
Thursday, 25 December 2008
WASHINGTON, Dec 24 (AP): Several reports due Wednesday are expected to provide more evidence that consumers are cutting back on spending and companies are eliminating jobs in the face of a deepening recession.
The new figures will come a day after the government said the gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the economy, shrank at a 0.5 per cent annual rate in the third quarter. Many economists expect the GDP to shrink by much more in the current quarter.
Wall Street economists forecast that a report on consumer spending in November, to be released by the Commerce Department Wednesday, will show a drop of 0.7 per cent. That would be the fifth straight month of decline.
Meanwhile, the Labour Department's tally of initial applications for unemployment benefits last week is expected to rise slightly to a seasonally adjusted 560,000 from 554,000 in the previous week.
And the Commerce Department is expected to report that durable goods orders fell by three per cent in November, after a 6.2-per cent drop in October. October's decline was the largest fall in two years.
The new figures will come a day after the government said the gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the economy, shrank at a 0.5 per cent annual rate in the third quarter. Many economists expect the GDP to shrink by much more in the current quarter.
Wall Street economists forecast that a report on consumer spending in November, to be released by the Commerce Department Wednesday, will show a drop of 0.7 per cent. That would be the fifth straight month of decline.
Meanwhile, the Labour Department's tally of initial applications for unemployment benefits last week is expected to rise slightly to a seasonally adjusted 560,000 from 554,000 in the previous week.
And the Commerce Department is expected to report that durable goods orders fell by three per cent in November, after a 6.2-per cent drop in October. October's decline was the largest fall in two years.