April 13 (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve should “wait and see” before deciding whether to lower interest rates amid the war in Iran, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Semafor Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith on Monday.
Bessent said the U.S. economy was “very strong” in January and February, and that the Fed is “doing the right thing by sitting and watching” how the conflict plays out.
“I would be shocked, for instance, if (the European Central Bank) hiked (rates),” he said. “Although I will say that many European countries, (such as) the UK, and Asian countries, are subsidizing demand, which we haven’t done in the U.S.”
Bessent said he is confident that recent price increases are not “going to get embedded into inflation expectations.”
U.S. consumer prices rose by the most in nearly four years in March as the war with Iran led to a record surge in the cost of gasoline and diesel, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump’s approval ratings as discontent grew over his handling of the economy.
The war has sent global crude oil prices surging more than 30%, with the national average retail gasoline price breaking above $4 a gallon for the first time in more than three years.
When asked about whether the war in Iran would ultimately be good or bad for the U.S. economy, Bessent said, “I think we will look back and say – I don’t know the number of days – whether it’s 50 or 100 or more (days) for 50 years of stability.”
(Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Kevin Buckland)
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