Monday, June 13, 2016

The June 2016 Wall Street Journal Economic Forecast Survey

The June 2016 Wall Street Journal Economic Forecast Survey was published on June 9, 2016.  The headline is “WSJ Survey:  Economists Sharply Lower Estimates of Job Growth in the Next Year.”  As indicated in the article, 66 economists were surveyed, although not every economist answered every question.
I found numerous items to be notable – although I don’t necessarily agree with them – both within the article and in the “Economist Q&A” section.
An excerpt:
A big risk for the U.S. is that there’s simply “no offsetting factor to the energy and manufacturing slowdown,” said Nathaniel Karp, chief U.S. economist for the bank BBVA. The U.S. energy boom, in particular, had been a bright spot in the U.S. economy until oil prices plunged and remained low in 2014 and 2015.
As seen in the “Recession Probability” section, the average response as to the odds of another recession starting within the next 12 months was 20.74%; the average response in May’s survey was 19.61%.  The individual estimates, of those who responded, ranged from 1% to 60%.
The current average forecasts among economists polled include the following:
GDP:
full-year 2016:  2.0%
full-year 2017:  2.3%
full-year 2018:  2.2%
Unemployment Rate:
December 2016: 4.7%
December 2017: 4.6%
December 2018: 4.6%
10-Year Treasury Yield:
December 2016: 2.19%
December 2017: 2.69%
December 2018: 3.15%
CPI:
December 2016:  1.8%
December 2017:  2.2%
December 2018:  2.3%
Crude Oil  ($ per bbl):
for 12/31/2016: $50.21
for 12/31/2017: $55.30
(note: I highlight this WSJ Economic Forecast survey each month; commentary on past surveys can be found under the “Economic Forecasts” label)
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I post various economic forecasts because I believe they should be carefully monitored.  However, as those familiar with this blog are aware, I do not necessarily agree with many of the consensus estimates and much of the commentary in these forecast surveys.
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The Special Note summarizes my overall thoughts about our economic situation
SPX at 2081.68 as post is written

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