Biden Says Stemming Inflation Is Fed’s Job, Backs Policy Shift
Biden Says Price Control Is Fed’s Job, Backs Shift in Policy
(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden said it’s the Federal Reserve’s job to rein in the fastest pace of inflation in decades, and supported the central bank’s plans to scale back monetary stimulus.
“The critical job in making sure that the elevated prices don’t become entrenched rests with the Federal Reserve,” Biden said Wednesday in a press conference marking his first year in office. “Given the strength in the economy, and the pace of recent price increases, it’s appropriate,” as Fed Chair Jerome Powell has indicated, “to recalibrate the support that is now necessary,” Biden said at the White House.
Consumer-price inflation hit a 7% annual rate in December, the highest in almost four decades. The surge in the cost of living -- triggered in large part by pandemic-related supply breakdowns and soaring demand for goods -- has proved longer-lasting than the administration, Fed or vast majority of economists anticipated.
Fed policy makers are now phasing out their bond purchases, and have signaled they will start raising interest rates as soon as March. The recalibration plans have sent Treasuries sliding, pushing up bond yields and driving down equities this month.
Biden has seen his approval ratings tumble as a result, with a recent CBS News poll finding that two-thirds of Americans think the president isn’t focused enough on the burden of inflation. Consumer sentiment in November hit the lowest in almost a decade.
Biden’s economics team has predicted that price gains will subside later this year, and still holds that much of the pressure is related to temporary conditions caused by the sudden economic reopening and supply bottlenecks.
“The inflation has everything to do with the supply chain,” Biden said Wednesday. He also highlighted moves the administration is making to help promote competition, including in the meat industry.
The administration has blamed the inflation surge in part on the limited competition found in some industries, including meatpacking. While most economists don’t see large companies’ pricing power as a major factor, some argue that the phenomenon will keeps prices rising faster for longer.
Lower prices for producers in December point to some early signs of cooling along the supply chain, though that gauge remains at the second-highest level in figures dating back to 2010.
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