The longest expansion in U.S. history ended in February with the economy falling into a deep recession as the coronavirus pandemic triggered the shutdown of businesses across the country.
The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the private research group responsible for making such determinations, made the official proclamation on Monday. The bureau declared that a 128-month expansion, the longest on record since 1854, came to a halt in February and the recession also began in that same month.
“Concluded that the unprecedented magnitude of the decline in employment and production, and its broad reach across the entire economy, warrants the designation of this episode as a recession, even if it turns out to be briefer than earlier contractions,” the Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research said in a statement.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stated on Friday that the U.S. unemployment rate hit 3.5% in February, 14.7% in April, and 13.3% in May. The U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) was down at 4.8% in the first three months of the year.
The U.S. Federal Reserve (FRS) said that they would have a meeting this week and officials would issue new economic projections that illustrate their expectations about the economy’s fast recovery.
The Dollar fell to two-year lows on Friday, heading to its lowest decline in 10 years as concerns mounted over the economic recovery of the U.S. amid a second resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Dollar index plunged to 92.777, on course ...
Oil traded higher on Friday, further reclaiming lost ground from three-week lows in the previous session as the COVID-19 situation continued to dent the global economy as well as oil consumption. Brent crude gained 0.3%, trading at $43.08 ...
The outlook for India’s struggling economy has darkened further on weak business activities and surging virus cases. This will likely prompt the Reserve Bank of India to lower interest rates again, a Reuters survey showed. According ...
The second quarter had seen Australian consumer prices dropping by a record. This could be attributed to the coronavirus crisis dragging child care cost and petroleum prices, inflicting a serious damage to years of growth toward higher inflation. Last ...
Financial markets saw record heights earlier on Friday, with the Euro continuing its 21-month gain streak and gold prices hitting its highest level amid a weakened Dollar. The Euro soared above the Dollar by 1.7%, trading at $1.1616 for the ...