U.S. recession worries fade among traders

NEW YORK, May 14 (UPI) -- Predictions of a U.S. recession are subsiding but haven't entirely disappeared, an investment Web site reported.

The Web site Intrade, which tracks economic sentiment among traders, reported 70 percent of traders in mid-April predicted a recession would hit the U.S. economy. By mid-May, that figure had dropped to 29 percent, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Several key indicators have pushed trader sentiment out of the red, the Times reported.

While falling home prices will likely to continue, a rapid decline in home sales has slowed from nearly 25 percent at the beginning of the year to 20.8 percent in recent figures.

Stock indexes have gained in recent weeks with the Standard and Poor's 500 index gaining 10 percent over its low for the year.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said this week that financial markets had improved but markets were still "far from normal."

And some investors are betting the $168 billion economic stimulus package that will help put consumer spending back into gear.