Economic recovery has begun, but growth will be “relatively subdued” from now “through the medium term,” Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta president and chief executive officer Dennis Lockhart said yesterday.
“The potential sluggishness of the recovery partly reflects certain unique characteristics of this recession,” Lockhart said at a conference in Georgia, according to prepared text of his remarks released by the Fed. “It was led by a crisis in banking and capital markets that was triggered by a sharp and persistent reduction in valuations of residential real-estate assets.”
The 3.5% growth in third-quarter gross domestic product was spurred by real consumer spending, which, in turn, was fueled by the “cash for clunkers” program, according to Lockhart.
“In addition, federal outlays grew rapidly, and the pace of inventory liquidation slowed,” he said. “Accompanying positive GDP news, inflation measures remained relatively subdued.”
