President Joe Biden said on Monday that he did not expect the US to go into recession, although GDP figures due this week may show the economy shrinking for a second consecutive quarter.
"We're not going to be in a recession, in my view," Mr Biden said.
Quoting strong employment figures, he said he hoped instead for a soft landing where "we go from this rapid growth to steady growth".
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For the first time ever, the price for a gallon of regular petrol has hit more than $5. AP -
US President Joe Biden speaks about the economy and inflation at the Port of Los Angeles in California. AFP -
Tampons have reportedly been in short supply in stores across the US due to global supply chain issues. AFP -
Pay rates displayed at a Taco Bell fast food outlet in Sacramento, after the California minimum wage was increased due to inflation. AP -
Various grades of petrol, with prices above $7 per gallon, are displayed at a Chevron gas station in central Los Angeles, California. AP -
The rising cost of items including clothing, food, petrol and cars is hitting Americans' pockets, despite historically low unemployment. AFP -
Mr Biden announces plans to fight inflation and lower costs. Reuters -
Supermarkets across the US are struggling to keep shelves stocked because of supply chain issues. Willy Lowry / The National -
Protesters with the Centre for Popular Democracy stage a demonstration in support of employment rights in June 2022. Reuters -
Diners in San Francisco, California. With prices so high, many US consumers say they are cutting back on eating out. AFP -
Bags of purchases from a Dollar Tree store in Jackson, Mississippi. The company sells items at $1. AP -
Volunteers gather food to hand out at a West Texas Food Bank drive-through in Odessa, Texas. Bloomberg -
A hiring poster at a Chipotle fast food restaurant in Los Angeles, California. US unemployment stands at 3.6 per cent, about 0.1 per cent above a 50-year low in 2019. EPA -
Supermarket shoppers in Rosemead, California. High food prices are causing hardship for some Americans. AFP -
Mr Biden speaks on lowering costs for American families in Illinois. Bloomberg -
Nearly empty shelves in a supermarket in Orlando, Florida. AP
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressed confidence in the US Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation and said she did not see any sign that the country's economy was in a broad recession.
“We’re likely to see some slowing of job creation,” Ms Yellen told NBC on Sunday. “I don’t think that that’s a recession.
"A recession is broad-based weakness in the economy. We’re not seeing that now.”
With US consumer prices rising at the fastest rate in four decades, a growing number of analysts say it will take a recession and higher joblessness to ease price pressures significantly.
The Fed increased rates in June by the most since 1994 and is expected to approve another rise, of 75-basis points, this week.
Inflation is “way too high”, Ms Yellen said, while repeating the Biden administration’s comments that it is also high in many other advanced economies.
“The Fed is charged with putting in place policies that will bring inflation down,” said the former Fed chairwoman. “And I expect them to be successful.”
Even if the US posts two consecutive quarters of economic contraction, Ms Yellen — pointing to the US job market — said she did not expect the academics at the National Bureau of Economic Research who rule on recessions would call one.
News agencies contributed to this report
