WASHINGTON, June 19 (KUNA) — US Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen said Sunday that she does not think that “recession is at all inevitable” and that “inflation is really unacceptably high.” I expect the economy to slow, it’s been growing at a very rapid rate, Yellen told ABC network. “As the labor market has recovered and we have reached full employment, it’s natural now that we expect to transition to steady and stable growth. But I don’t think recession is at all inevitable.” She reiterated that it is President Joe Biden’s “top priority” to bring down inflation and that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has said that “his goal is to bring inflation down while maintaining a strong labor market.” “That’s going to take skill and luck, but, I believe it’s possible. I don’t think a recession is inevitable,” she stressed.

Yellen continued that “inflation is really unacceptably high. Part of the reason is Russia’s war on Ukraine has boosted energy and food prices in the United States and globally.” “Supply chain snarls partly resulting from lockdowns in China are also boosting inflation. And so, these factors are unlikely to diminish immediately but over time I certainly expect inflation to come down,” she said.

For his part, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese told Fox network “as we move through this transition, not only is a recession not inevitable, but what we as policymakers can do is take steps to build on our unique strengths in the American economy and try to get to that stable and steady growth that we all want to get to as quickly as possible.” Meanwhile, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm told CNN that inflation is happening “globally,” and that “a recession is not inevitable.” “One of the biggest pieces of these inflationary increases that we’re seeing is the price of fuel,” she said.

She added that Biden “is doing everything he can within his power, including releasing a million barrels per day at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

We have got to replace the barrels of oil that Russia used to export around the world and that now is not available because of the war.” On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve decided to raise interest rates by 0.75 percent, its largest since 1994.

Source: Kuwait News Agency