Trump Economic Advisor Christopher Phelan said that President Donald Trump’s plan to reduce inflation is working, and added that he sees “no reason to raise rates.”
While speaking to Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle, Phelan admitted that “right now, inflation is a little bit higher than we would like,” adding that it is “coming down.”
When asked how to “combat” inflation and “turn a corner” on it, Phelan explained that while Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation has been higher than the Federal Reserve’s target, it is “improving.”
“I wouldn’t say a lot of it started under the Biden administration, almost all of it started under the Biden administration,” Phelan said.
Phelan explained that when he looks at the data, he likes “to average it over a few months.”
“I like to look at Core, which excludes food and energy. Not because food and energy doesn’t matter, it does. But, because it’s very volatile as well,” Phelan continued, explaining that Core PCE “is what the Fed looks at.”
“Core PCE… which is what the Fed looks at, over the last three months has been three percent. The three months before that it was 3.9 percent. So, what they’re currently doing now is working,” Phelan said, while admitting that “PCE inflation has been above” the target for roughly “65 straight months.”
When asked if people should be “expecting rate cuts or rate hikes,” Phelan explained that he sees “no reason to raise rates.”
“There are always going to be people that criticize someone in my position for having suggestions to the Federal Reserve,” Phelan explained. “I don’t see anything wrong with that. I think it’s perfectly fine for the President to have opinions and express them on what the Fed should do. This is not new, this has happened over the entire history of the Fed.”
Phelan added that he sees “inflation as being Core PCE three percent the last three months, 3.9 percent before that.”
“We’re seeing inflation come down; I see no reason to raise rates,” Phelan added.
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