Yellen on Reducing Inflation without Economic Decline: ‘So Far, So Good’

During a portion of an interview with CNN on Monday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that while inflation remains “too high,” it has been generally declining over the past year, and she would characterize the process of bringing down inflation while maintaining the “very strong labor market” that currently exists as “so far, so good.”

CNN International Correspondent Melissa Bell asked, “We’ve seen the fight against inflation take a hit, PCE [Personal Consumption Expenditures price index] hitting 5.4%. Do you believe at this stage that the Fed is behind the curve or that a soft landing is still the most likely scenario?”

Yellen responded, “I personally believe that it’s possible to bring inflation down while maintaining — we have a very strong labor market, I think we can maintain it. I would say, so far, so good. Obviously, there are risks and the global situation we face is very uncertain. There can be shocks from it. But look, inflation, still, is too high, but, generally, if you look over the last year, inflation has been coming down. And I know the Fed is committed to continuing the process of bringing it down to more normal levels.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

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