Economists Bullish on Next 2 Years

WASHINGTON —  The U.S. economy, which has endured an extended period of sluggish activity, is about to rebound with substantially higher growth that will last through 1987, the nation’s business economists forecast today.

The National Association of Business Economists said its latest survey of 330 of its members found them more optimistic than they were just three months ago because of the dramatic plunge in oil prices and interest rates.

Some of the economists have boosted their growth forecasts by as much as two percentage points for 1986 and 1987 while scaling back their predictions for inflation and interest rates by like amounts.

“We are more bullish on the economy over the next two years,” Kathleen Cooper, president of the association, told reporters. “Consumers are going to feel much more comfortable. They will have more job opportunities, lower inflation and faster growth.”

Cooper, who is chief economist for Security Pacific National Bank in Los Angeles, conceded that little of this upturn in economic activity is evident yet. The economy grew at a weak 2.2% rate during 1985.

But she said the survey found much more optimism about the second half of the year, when economists predict the economy will be growing at a rate of 3.4%.