WASHINGTON, Aug 11 (Xinhua) -- A majority of economists expect the U.S. economy will keep on growing for at least two more years, and be well on course to be the longest economic expansion in history, according to a Reuters survey released on Friday.
Sixty percent of the economists who replied to the survey, conducted during Aug. 7-10, expect the U.S. economic expansion has more than two years to go.
The U.S. economy walked out of recession in June 2009, and the growth stretch has already lasted for 96 months, the third longest in history. "Expansions don't go on forever," said Sam Bullard, senior economist at Wells Fargo, "steady, moderate growth looks like it could stay in place for a while."
If the prediction comes true, this round of economic expansion would be the longest one in U.S. history, surpassing the previous record of 120 months of economic expansion from March 1991 to March 2001.
U.S. President Trump's administration aims to boost annual growth rate to three percent. The survey, however, shows most economists only hold a modest growth expectation around two percent.
U.S. economy expanded at a 2.6 percent annualized pace in the second quarter, rebounding from a soft patch at the start of the year. For the first half of 2017, the U.S. economy grew by 1.9 percent.
