US GDP could 'easily' contract 20-30% Q2: Fed's Jerome Powell

The business shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic could "easily" cause the US economy to collapse by 20 to 30 percent this quarter, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Sunday.

Although unemployment could peak at 20 to 25 percent, a level not seen since the 1930s, Powell said the country will avoid another depression.

"I think there's a good chance that there'll be positive growth in the third quarter," Powell told the CBS program "60 Minutes.