By Saeed Azhar and Lananh Nguyen

NEW YORK Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said the U.S. economy is likely to avoid a significant recession, but warned inflation is likely to be more persistent than market participants currently expect.

"The chance of having a relatively soft landing and navigating through this has gone up very meaningfully over the last 12 months," Solomon told Reuters in an interview. "The environment is definitely better."

The Federal Reserve has tamed inflation via interest-rate increases, but it may need to take further action, he said.

"I have a personal point of view that inflation is going to be a little bit more sticky than the more optimistic views," Solomon said. "There's still work to do."

(Reporting by Saeed Azhar and Lananh Nguyen; additional reporting by Davide Barbuscia; Editing by Sharon Singleton)