Biden says no recession this year or next year

WASHINGTON Reuters President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he did not believe the U.S. economy will fall into recession this year or next year, his most confident prediction on the fate of an economy that is still rattled by fears of a downturn.

Asked if there would be a recession this year, Biden responded: No, or next year. How many of the experts say there is going to be a recession within the next six months from the moment I got elected. Economists warned of a possible recession as the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates in order to tame decades-high inflation.

Biden said a recession was possible, and earlier this week he told reporters that the risk was very low.

In recent months, economic data has moved in favor of President, especially after inflation spiked to a 40 year high last summer and government reports showed that the U.S. economy could be heading for a recession.

The strong job numbers last week, which occurred despite layoffs in the technology sector and interest-rate sensitive sectors like housing and finance, poured cold water on market expectations that the U.S. central bank was close to ending its monetary policy tightening cycle.