On Wednesday’s “ABC News Live,” ABC News Business Reporter Alexis Christoforous stated that inflation “probably hasn’t peaked yet.” And won’t as long as we have “a very strong labor market right now continuing to put pressure on wages.”
After host Phil Lipof said the White House’s celebration on Tuesday was “slightly tone-deaf,” Christoforous stated, “I think you’re onto something there, Phil. Because I know that President Biden’s trying to put a positive spin on this inflation picture, especially with midterm elections right around the corner. And we know that inflation and the economy is priority number one for many voters. But I think you’d be hard-pressed to find Americans who are cheering 8.3% inflation. … I think you’re right when you say, it seemed a little tone-deaf yesterday.”
Later, Lipof asked, “Are there signs inflation has peaked, and if so, what happens to the Federal Reserve?”
Christoforous responded, “The expectation is…that this report does not move them off the track of being very aggressive with raising rates. We’re probably in for our third straight interest rate hike of %0.75 next Wednesday, which means financing things like a home, a car, your credit card debt will get more expensive. As for whether or not inflation has peaked, we were hopeful this report would show that. But, you know what, Phil, we’ve got a very strong labor market right now continuing to put pressure on wages. As long as we have those two things, I think the short answer is, it probably hasn’t peaked yet.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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