U.S. business sentiment drops for fourth quarter in a row: survey

WASHINGTON, March 20 (Xinhua) -- CEO's expectations for U.S. economy dropped in the first quarter of 2019, as trade uncertainty and slowing global economy weighed on business helmsman's sentiments.

Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of major U.S. corporations, reported on Tuesday that the CEO Economic Outlook Index dropped to 95.2 in the first quarter of 2019, down 9.2 points from the previous quarter.

The index is a composite of CEO expectations for sales and plans for capital spending and hiring over the next six months, according to Business Roundtable.

Even as the index was higher than its historical average of 82.4, the reading declined for the fourth quarter in a row.

Business Roundtable said that the eased index was "reflecting uncertainty about softening global growth." In addition, all three components of the index supported the downward trend, hanging above their historical averages.

According to Business Roundtable, the employment sub-index, the capital spending sub-index and the sales sub-index in the first quarter dropped 11.3 points, 6.9 points and 9.6 points respectively.

Speaking of the prospects of U.S. GDP growth, CEOs predicted a 2.5 percent increase in 2019. In the previous quarter, they estimated that U.S. GDP would see a 2.7 percent annual growth.

However, the U.S. Federal Reserve held a much more pessimistic projection compared to the CEO's outlooks.

Fed policymakers downgraded their predictions for U.S. economic growth on Wednesday, saying the estimated growth rate in 2019 was just 2.1 percent. Meanwhile, the Fed officials signaled that there could be no more interest rate hikes this year.