US economy poised for gains in 2014

WASHINGTON, Mar 11 (Xinhua): The US economic growth is on track to accelerate this year as headwinds recede and underlying momentum picks up, said the White House in a report yesterday.

The economy continued to recover and strengthen in 2013, nearly five years after the worst of financial crisis, said the Latest Economic Report of the President.

The unemployment rate fell 1.2 per centage point in 2013, a larger decline than in previous years and more than was forecast by most private-sector economists, according to the report prepared by the White House Council of Economic Advisors.

"The most predictable reason for optimism about the U.S.  economy in 2014 is the waning drag from fiscal policy and reduced fiscal uncertainty," the report said.

"Looking ahead, a wide variety of indicators suggest that the economy is well situated for a pickup in growth in 2014," such as a rebounding housing sector and strong gains in aggregate household net worth - both an increase in assets and a decline in the debt burden, it noted.

Real GDP is projected to grow in the 3.2-to-3.4 per cent range during the four years through 2017. And by the fourth quarter of 2017, the unemployment rate which currently stands at 6.7 per cent, is expected to fall to 5.5 per cent.

The White House economists noted that although many of the headwinds that have buffeted growth have subsided, some unforeseen events both domestically and internationally may pose a risk to the economy.

They argued severe cold weather and storms in the United States and a global reduction in asset prices have contributed to some economic activity falling below trend rates of growth in the last few months.