Odaily Planet Daily News The White House has raised its forecasts for U.S. economic growth and inflation in 2024, while continuing to expect huge budget deficits in the coming years. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) now expects U.S. GDP to grow 1.9% year-on-year in the fourth quarter. This is higher than its March forecast of 1.3%. CPI was also raised to 3.1% from the previous forecast of 2.5%. The Biden administration released these forecasts on Friday in the OMB's so-called mid-term budget assessment. The deficit for this fiscal year is expected to be $1.87 trillion, not much different from the $1.86 trillion expected in March. The deficit for fiscal year 2025 is expected to be $1.88 trillion, up from the $1.78 trillion expected in March. The budget deficit will account for 6.6% of GDP in fiscal year 2024, which ends in September, and will fall to 6.3% next year. At this ratio, the deficit rate will continue to be among the highest levels in U.S. history, except for wars, financial crises and the COVID-19 pandemic. Economists worry that if lawmakers fail to control debt growth, the economy will be damaged. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicted last month that the U.S. deficit in fiscal 2024 would reach $1.92 trillion. (Global Market Report)