FT.com / Comment & analysis / Letters – Premature to say US is in recession:
Premature to say US is in recession
Published: March 17 2008 02:00 | Last updated: March 17 2008 02:00
From Mr Joe Carl White.Sir, In the first sentence of your report “Dollar plunges to record low” (March 14), you say that “retail sales figures confirmed that the US is in recession”.
Hardly. The sales figures cited show a decline for February, true; but a recession is two or more quarters of decline. Since preliminary figures for fourth quarter 2007 show an increase, it is quite premature to state that we are in a recession at this time.
Joe Carl White,
Houston, TX 77057, US