U.S. Q2 GDP worst quarter on record

WASHINGTON - The global banking group BBVA says that GDP in the United States dropped by 32.9% in the second quarter, marking the steepest decline in over-the-quarter growth since 1937. It says that the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases since mid-June has lowered the likelihood of the "V-shaped" recovery, and that economic and health outcomes will be interwoven in the near future.

"Given that growth for the the first half has been perfectly aligned with our outlook since April, we are maintaining our expectations for negative growth in 2020 of -5.1%," BBVA says.

It says what it calls the "idiosyncrasies" of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to unusual fluctuations in consumption and investment that could endure in some sectors

"Recent spikes in the number of COVID-19 in hotspots around the country, and the shift to more cautious behavioural responses suggests that the risks are firmly titled to the downside."  www.bbvarresearch@bbva.com  (ATI).