WASHINGTON- Preliminary estimates show U.S. President Joe Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package could boost U.S. economic output by 5% over the next three years, the chief ecnomist of the International Monetary Fund said Monday.

Gita Gopinath told a news conference the measures in the proposed package could add as much as 1.5% to U.S. growth in 2021, when the IMF projects the U.S. economy will expand by 5.1% after a 3.4% contraction in 2020.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, editing by Louise Heavens) ((andrea.shalal@tr.com; +1 202-815-7432;))