U.S. economic forecast for 2007: cooling off but no recession

…Still, oil prices are unlikely to do anything but rise in the long term as demand increases and easily pumped oilfields are drained, a phenomenon known as “Peak Oil.”

“Expected growth rates in emerging economies such as China, India, Brazil would indicate that oil prices should continue to rise,” Wall said. “These countries and many other emerging economies are still well below their projected peak energy consumption levels — based on the consumption levels of developed economies — so growth in energy demand is expected to outpace growth in supply. That doesn’t mean we won’t see intermittent declines in oil prices.”

Bottom Line:

Growth will be slower in 2007, but there should not be a recession.

Although globalization has hampered job growth and job quality, improved stabilization of the economy is cause for optimism.

TheManufacturer.com