US economy going into "eye of storm," Citi's Rhodes

CANCUN, Mexico, April 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is heading toward "the eye of the storm" and may well be in recession, William Rhodes, senior vice chairman of Citigroup Inc (C.N), said on Tuesday.

"In the case of the U.S. economy I think we're just getting into the eye of the storm," Rhodes told reporters in the Mexican resort of Cancun.

"I think it will probably appear that we're in a recession right now," he said at a World Economic Forum event in the Caribbean town.

The United States has been hit by a subprime mortgage crisis, rising unemployment, weak consumer spending and a decline in confidence.

Many on Wall Street say the economy has already shifted into reverse, with some economists describing the housing slump as the worst since the Great Depression.

"I don't think we'll see the U.S. housing market bottom out until probably at the earliest the end of this year. Some people think the beginning of next year," Rhodes said. (Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Diane Craft)