July 9 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. recession will last six more months and be followed by a “shallow” recovery, Nouriel Roubini said.

The economy contracted by 5.5 percent in the first quarter and 6.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, the most since 1958, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The savings rate reached 6.9 percent in May, the highest since December 1993, spurring concern that consumer spending will wane.

“This is a great recession that could have ended up in a near depression,” Roubini, the New York University economist who predicted the credit crisis, said on Bloomberg Radio’s “Surveillance.” “We’re not out of the woods.”

Yale University Professor Robert Shiller, speaking during the same program in New York today, said the economic crisis continues despite the $12.8 trillion pledged by the U.S. government and Federal Reserve. President Barack Obama needs to propose another stimulus plan, Shiller added.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Martin in New York at emartin21@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 9, 2009 18:30 EDT