Improvement of US Economy’s Performance in 2017 Depends on Trump Policy – OPEC

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) positive forecast for the US economy in 2017 will depend on the monetary policy of US President-elect Donald Trump, including his pledge to introduce tax cuts, the cartel said in its monthly report, published Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Tax cuts promised by Trump could impose potential difficulties for the government’s monetary policies, which would then have less effect on the US economy, compared with the dependence of past years, the organization added.

"While low 1H16 growth has kept the year’s GDP growth below the 2% mark, the economy is forecast to fare better in 2017. This will certainly depend on the plans of the incoming Trump administration, which will determine if, and to what extent, the announcements made during the campaign will actually be implemented," the December report reads.

US oil and gas companies are expected to step up investment next year amid recovering prices of oil and gas, but the spending would not be focused on exploration, OPEC said in its monthly report.

"US oil and gas companies are expected to step up activity in 2017 as they start to increase their spending amid a recovery in prices," the December report reads.

However, the majority of US activities and investment is set to be devoted to the completion business, not exploration, according to the cartel.