FX.co ★ Many Americans think economy getting worse

Like the rest of the world, the US is dealing with the negative consequences of the coronavirus crisis. However, while the problems of some economies hardly affect the market sentiment, the issues of the world's largest economy are always an alarming bell. Currently, the US is facing the highest inflation on record. Local consumers are putting the blame on the incompetence of the US government.

Notably, almost two-thirds of Americans said the US economy is in bad shape. About half of the surveyed expect GDP to contract next year. Inflation, on the contrary, will grow by 5.7%, hitting the highest level since the survey started in June 2013. Naturally, being tired of high prices, people vented their anger at the government. They are sure that all misfortunes could be escaped if not for the US authorities’ unwise policy. Apparently, consumer confidence is gradually weakening as well as the economic outlook. Importantly, Joe Biden pinned great hopes on his ability to improve the economy, kicking it into the pre-pandemic shape.

Consumers also believe that the government allowed inflation to go wild. To smooth things over, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell made a statement. "It’s frustrating to see the bottlenecks and supply chain problems not getting better — in fact at the margins apparently getting a little bit worse," he pointed out. "We see that continuing into next year probably, and holding up inflation longer than we had thought." The Fed is also closely monitoring economic gauges as inflation expectations may have a negative impact on consumer activity, he added.