Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President says Gulf Oil Spill is Damaging Confidence in Economy

 

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is not having a measurable effect on the national economy, but is likely retarding the recovery by holding back consumer and business confidence, said Dennis Lockhart, the president of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank on Wednesday. "The spill disheartens us all and, I believe, makes the public a little more reticent to assume a smooth recovery path," Lockhart said in a speech in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Atlanta Fed district covers all of the states impacted by the spill.