US inflation is still on a downward path despite the higher prints in recent months, said Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Chief Economist Jan Hatzius, supporting the bank’s expectation for an interest-rate cut in June.
“If you look at the drivers of inflation, whether it’s on the goods side or on the rent side or in the labor market, I think the trends there still look encouraging,” Hatzius said on Bloomberg Television Wednesday.
Goldman economists led by Hatzius recently changed their forecast for US monetary policy, reducing the number of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts they see this year from four to three. The economists expect the first of those reductions to come in June.
Fed officials are widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of their two-day meeting Wednesday. Investors will be closely monitoring policymakers’ updated quarterly projections as well as Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference for any hints about when the central bank will begin lowering lending costs.
Hatzius pointed to Powell’s comments to Congress earlier this month, saying, “that sounded like a cut no later than June.”
“We’ve had higher inflation numbers in the past week, so the question is: Has that changed his view?” he said. “My expectation is no, but we’ll find out at 2 p.m.”
The Goldman economist also said monetary policy is restrictive “by a significant amount,” but that it’s not problematic for near-term economic growth.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.