Hurricane Ida: Economists Foresee Only Modest Damage to U.S. Economy

This satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and captured by NOAA’s GOES-16 shows lightning swirling around the eye of Hurricane Ida as the storm approaches the Louisiana coast, Sunday morning, Aug. 29, 2021. (NOAA via AP)

Hurricane Ida is sure to take a toll on the energy, chemical and shipping industries that have major hubs along the Gulf Coast.

But the impact on the overall U.S. economy should be modest so long as damage estimates don’t rise sharply and refinery shutdowns are not prolonged, economists suggested.

Economist Mark Zandi at Moody’s Analytics, said the disruptions caused by Ida will likely cause him to downgrade his forecast for annual U.S. economic growth in the current quarter by a few tenths of a percentage point.

But that economic loss, he said, could be reversed in the final quarter of the year as a result of rebuilding from the hurricane’s damage.

(Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)