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Obama says GDP figures to show contraction

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-31 05:53

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama braced the country for more bad economic news on Thursday, saying second-quarter GDP figures would show the economy contracted and job losses were still a "huge" problem.

Obama, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office after a meeting with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, said the US credit and banking systems had settled down -- a sign the economy had stepped away from a dangerous ledge.

Obama said he had not seen the GDP figures, which are to be released on Friday, but he referred to consensus by economists that the US economy had seen a "significant slowing down of the contraction over the last several months."

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Although job losses were way too high, they were not proceeding at the pace that was seen at the beginning of the year, he said.

"I suspect that the GDP numbers will still show that the economy contracted in the second quarter (and) that job loss is still a huge problem," Obama said.

"We're not going to rest until we have seen not just a technical improvement in GDP, but until the American people's job prospects, their incomes have rebounded. And that's going to take some time," he said.

Obama said some improvements in recent months had abated fears the United States could slide into another Great Depression.

"The credit system, the banking system, the financial markets generally have settled down. You're not seeing the huge volatility or panic that you were seeing," he said.