(Reuters) – HSBC Holdings LLC, Europe’s biggest bank, on Wednesday said it raised its forecast for U.S. gross domestic product to 5.0% in 2021, from 3.5% previously, and its growth call for next year to 3.0% from 2.5%.
HSBC Global Research said in a note that the upgrade was due to higher consumer spending, thanks to pandemic stimulus, the Democratic push to pass President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief package and the U.S. housing boom’s impact on residential construction.
“Our new growth forecasts imply that pre-pandemic levels of GDP could be reached as early as Q2 this year. We previously estimated that it would take until end-2021 to reach this milestone,” HSBC said.
(The Global Finance & Markets Breaking News team)