
It is time for the Federal Reserve to stand down from its policy of raising interest rates to tame inflation because that mission has been accomplished, said a top global markets strategist for JPMorgan Chase & Co.
The Fed has defeated inflation, David Kelley the financial service company’s asset management chief global strategist, told Bloomberg News as reported by Marketwatch. As a result, it should reconsider plans for further rate hikes, he said, though he conceded that policy decision would be unlikely.
“This is a war that [the Federal Reserve has] won, and now they are in danger of tipping the economy into recession and making the fiscal problem worse, so I wish they would be done,” he said.
Futures markets expect the Fed to raise its policy interest rate by 25 basis points at its February meeting, which Kelley also expects, Marketwatch reported. The markets predicted a high likelihood of another 25-basis-point hike in March.
In a statement released with the company’s fourth quarter earnings, CEO Jamie Dimon warned that the outlook for the economy still looks uncertain.
“The U.S. economy currently remains strong, with consumers still spending excess cash and businesses healthy,” he said. “However, we still do not know the ultimate effect of the headwinds coming from geopolitical tensions including the war in Ukraine, the vulnerable state of energy and food supplies, persistent inflation that is eroding purchasing power and has pushed interest rates higher, and the unprecedented quantitative tightening.”