U.S., China Agreement Will Boost Growth
Wall Street Journal (01/16/20) Torry, Harriet
The U.S. and China trade deal signed last week likely will boost growth in 2020 and spark a pickup in business investment, according to economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal. Most survey respondents also expect U.S. growth to continue at a slow-but-steady pace this year. Approximately two-thirds of respondents said the agreement should prove a small plus for U.S. gross-domestic-product growth in 2020 by pausing the trade dispute between the two nations. About 15% of respondents expected the deal to be a small drag, while 12% said it would have no effect.
Business investment should improve in 2020 as trade tensions wane, the majority of respondents said. Some 58% expect business investment will increase somewhat and 9% expect it will rise substantially.
On average, respondents said GDP will expand 1.9% this year, measured from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of this year, compared with an anticipated 2.3% in 2019. Respondents expected the unemployment rate, which was 3.5% in December, to edge up to 3.6% in December 2020.
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