Recent figures show the US economy is turning around, President George W. Bush said Saturday, crediting his administration's tax cuts for bringing it out of a slump.
In his weekly radio address Bush sought to put a positive spin on the latest economic news. Figures released Friday showed an unexpectedly slow 3.0-percent annual rate of US economic growth in the second quarter as consumer spending braked, but also indicated the slowdown was temporary.
"This week we received encouraging reports that show our economy is gaining strength. Consumer confidence hit a two-year high in July," Bush said.
"Existing home sales hit an all-time new record in June. The home ownership rate has hit a new all-time high. And since last summer, our economy has grown at a rate as fast as any in nearly 20 years.
"These gains in our economy have come at a time when Americans are benefiting from the full effects of tax relief."
Signs of persistent economic weakness would be a deep concern to Bush as he remains locked in a neck-and-neck race with Democratic challenger John Kerry ahead of the November 2 presidential election.
Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts, has seized on economic weakness and the record deficits in the administration's budgets to argue that Bush has mismanaged the US economy.
The administration, which inherited a surplus from former president Bill Clinton in 2001, forecast a record 445-billion-dollar budget deficit in 2004, blaming the ongoing war on terrorism and repeated economic shocks, while adding that it was smaller than the 521-billion-dollar hole it predicted in February.
The shortfall for the fiscal year ending September 30 is deeper than the gap of 375 billion dollars in 2003.
"The impact of our growing economy is being felt in Washington, where estimates of government deficits are shrinking," Bush said. "My administration now forecasts that the combined deficits in 2004 and 2005 will be about 100 billion dollars less than previously expected, and because of my policy of strengthening the economy while enforcing spending discipline in Washington, we remain on pace to reduce the deficit by half in the next five years.
"These are hopeful signs and we must make sure our economy continues to gain momentum. Families are working hard to make ends meet, and these families depend on good policies in Washington that promote growth, new jobs and new opportunities."