WASHINGTON, USA: The reeling US economy is poised to emerge from recession in the second half of the year, but recovery will be lacklustre, a survey of economic forecasters showed on Wednesday, according to a AFP report.

The National Association for Business Economics said a survey of 45 professional forecasters found that the consensus believed the end of the prolonged recession that began in December 2007 was finally was in sight.

"While the overall tone remains soft, there are emerging signs that the economy is stabilising,'' according to NABE's latest survey and its president, Chris Varvares.
 
"The survey found that business economists look for the recession to end soon, but that the economic recovery is likely to be considerably more moderate than those typically experienced following steep declines,'' said Varvares, who is president of Macroeconomic Advisers.
 
The NABE outlook showed that panelists expected GDP—the country's goods and services output—to shrink by 1.8 per cent in the second quarter. But the NABE panel, in the survey taken between April 27 and May 11, downgraded the outlook for the next several quarters.
 
The panelists said a sharp pullback in business investment was stoking near-term weakness, and cited rising government spending as a "vital support'' to the ailing economy.

(Source: AFP)