Americans saving more and more

By Alison Sider and Deirdre Bolton | Bloomberg News

The U.S. savings rate may more than double to 11 percent in the next year, slowing consumption and inhibiting a recovery in the world's largest economy, said New York University economist Nouriel Roubini.

"If there is an adjustment to 11 percent in the next 12 months, you get thrift consumption, the recession becomes deeper," Roubini said in an interview Wednesday on Bloomberg Television.

U.S. consumers saved 5.7 percent of their disposable income in April, the highest level since 1995, as a recession that began in December 2007 and accompanying financial crisis discourages spending. The country's savings rate averaged 1.7 percent in the past decade.

Roubini, who correctly predicted the damage from a subprime mortgage meltdown, also forecast the U.S. unemployment rate would peak at 11 percent.