The U.S. economy is in a “solid” recovery, top White House economist Lael Brainard said Wednesday, hours after new data showed inflation continuing to cool.
Speaking at an Economic Club of New York event, National Economic Council Director Brainard said there’s “encouraging evidence that the economy is on the path to moderate inflation accompanied by resilient jobs market.”
Brainard spoke after the release of data showing inflation easing in June, which President Joe Biden also touted in a statement. As MarketWatch reported, U.S. consumer prices rose a modest 0.2% in June, and the rate of inflation slowed to the lowest level since 2021.
Recent progress, however, may not be enough to stop the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates again soon.
Read: U.S. inflation slows again, CPI shows, as Fed weighs another rate hike
Biden in his statement credited some of his own policies, and said: “I will continue to fight for lower costs for families every day.
“I ran for office to grow the economy from the middle out and bottom up, not the top down; that’s exactly what we’re doing,” he said, invoking the “Bidenomics” label used by the White House for his economic-policy program.
Now see: In ‘Bidenomics’ address, president touts economic record ahead of 2024 election
Brainard said that in the near future, the administration plans to continue to work on policies that “support growth that benefits the middle class through smart public investments, educating and empowering workers, and lowering the cost of living.”
To be sure, as MarketWatch’s Jeffry Bartash writes, inflation isn’t slowing quickly enough to dissuade the Fed from raising interest rates one or two more times this year. The central bank is ready to raise a key short-term rate later this month after pausing in June.
U.S. stocks
DJIA,
rallied on Wednesday while bond yields
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fell, after the tame inflation reading.
Jeffry Bartash contributed to this article.
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