Stimulus package likely to boost U.S. economy: Kimmitt

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (Reuters) - The U.S. economy continues to slow and risks are to the downside, but a $152 billion stimulus package that includes tax rebates should provide support and lead to more jobs, Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt said on Wednesday.

"We know the American economy is slowing ... There are risks to the downside and that's why steps have been taken, including the stimulus package," Kimmitt told Reuters after a speech to the Palestine Investment Conference in Bethlehem.

"I think there is a belief that the set of stimulus measures with consumers and businesses will produce the effects intended -- that is to provide stimulus to the economy, including the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs this year," he said.

Kimmitt declined to comment on expectations for near-term oil prices and when asked whether the economy would enter a recession, he said: "That's really for economists to make their judgment at some stage in the future."

(Reporting by Rebecca Harrison, Writing by Steven Scheer)