Economy in slowdown but recession unlikely: Bush

By David Alexander

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is in a slowdown but not headed into a recession, President George W. Bush said on Thursday after new data showed slow fourth-quarter growth and a bigger-than-expected jump in unemployment claims.

Bush, speaking at a White House news conference, also said he didn't think another economic stimulus package was necessary at the moment, adding "why don't we let stimulus package one have a chance to kick in."

"There is no question the economy has slowed down," Bush said. "I don't think we're headed into a recession, but there is no question we are in a slowdown."

"And that's why we acted, and acted strongly, with over $150 billion worth of pro-growth economic incentives, mainly money going into the hands of our consumers."

New economic data on Thursday showed the slender pace of U.S. growth was unrevised in the fourth quarter and new jobless claims jumped sharply last week, reinforcing a fragile outlook that some fear spells recession.

At the same time, fresh weakness in the U.S. dollar is raising new concerns about rising import prices and inflation even as it helps boost U.S. exports. Bush sought to reassure international financial markets that the administration stands by a strong currency.

"We believe in a strong dollar policy and we believe, and I believe, that our economy has got the fundamentals in place for us to be, to grow and continue growing more robustly, you know, hopefully more than we are growing now," Bush said.

"And the dollar, the value of the dollar will be reflected in the ability for our economy to be -- to grow economically," he added.