Fed advisor Prescott says U.S. not in recession

HELSINKI (Reuters) - United States is not in a recession and is not likely to enter one soon, a Minneapolis Fed advisor said on Thursday.

"Is the U.S. in a recession? My answer is no," Edward Prescott, Senior Monetary Advisor for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis said in a speech at the Bank of Finland.

"(Looking at the past four quarters) growth is a little bit below trend, not way below."

"Will the U.S. enter a recession soon? ... No, not unless the U.S. increases tax rates or closes off from the rest of the world ... or shifts to an anti-productivity policy, I doubt that will happen."

The 2004 economics Nobel Prize winner also said the U.S. government can handle its debt load very comfortably and it could be increased without creating problems.

(Reporting by Sakari Suoninen)