A panel of economists on Tuesday lowered their prediction for U.S. economic growth this year, citing a weaker outlook for capital spending, residential investment, and business inventories. The Blue Chip Economic Indicators panel of forecasters said they expect U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) to expand at a rate of 2.3 percent in 2007, the slowest growth since 2002. In March, the panel had predicted a 2.5 percent growth rate. The panel reduced its expectations of how much inflation will slow, though inflation is expected to grow less quickly in 2007 than in any of the previous three years. The panel also said it was concerned by signs that growth in the massive service sector was slowing. The panel predicted a 4.7 percent unemployment rate for this year and a 4.8 percent rate in 2008. The U.S. unemployment rate currently stands at 4.4 percent, the Labor Department said Friday.
