Three-quarters of CFOs expecting recession in first half of 2023: survey

More than three-quarters of chief financial officers said that they expect the U.S. will go through a recession during the first half of next year, according to a new CNBC–CFO Council survey.

The survey, published on Thursday, found that 77 percent of respondents said the country will experience a recession in the first half of 2023 due to the ongoing issue of inflation. 

None of the CFOs who participated in the survey predicted that the recession will happen during the second half of 2023, noting that the economy will recover by then. 

The majority of the CFO respondents also said that they expect the Dow Jones Industrial Average to fall below 30,000 points before reaching a new high, representing a 9 percent fall from its current level, according to CNBC.  

Thirty-six percent of the CFO respondents also said they plan to increase their spending over the next year, while 18 percent of the respondents said they plan to decrease their overall spending. Meanwhile, 46 percent of respondents said they plan to maintain their spending limits. 

Fifty-four percent of respondents also said that their company’s staff will increase over the next 12 months, while 18 percent of those surveyed said they anticipate a decrease in their company’s staff, CNBC noted. 

The latest survey comes as inflation has become a major problem in the U.S., leading to soaring prices at the gas pump as well as retailers.

President Biden last week launched a three-part plan to address inflation and acknowledged that the Federal Reserve has “a primary responsibility to control inflation.”

The latest CNBC poll was conducted from May 12 to June 6 with a total of 22 respondents who are CFOs of major companies.