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IMF-US-SHUTDOWN-ECONOMY
IMF warns of economic hit from extended government shutdown
WASHINGTON, Jan 18, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – While it is too soon to gauge the
economic damage from the US government shutdown, the longer it continues the
worse it will be, the International Monetary Fund warned Thursday.
The shutdown that has left 800,000 federal workers nationwide without pay
is the longest on record and now in its fourth week.
“The longer the shutdown is in effect the bigger impact it will have on
the economy,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters.
“We encourage the US authorities, in both Congress and the executive
branch, to work together in a spirit of compromise to pass a funding bill
that can reopen the federal offices.”
However, he said it is “still very early days in terms of making an
economic assessment of the impact of the shutdown.”
The IMF is due to release a quarterly update of its World Economic Outlook
on Monday, which will include a new estimate for US GDP growth.
Some economists project the shutdown could trim a tenth of a point off US
GDP in the first quarter, and even the White House acknowledged that the
impact will be worse that initially thought, according to reports.
BSS/AFP/HR/1020