CNBC’s Jim Cramer told investors to take Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at his word when he said on Wednesday that it’s unlikely there’s a rate hike on the horizon, even as inflation remains stubborn.
Although Powell’s comments calmed many on Wall Street, Cramer said it’s likely investors will become anxious again ahead of employment data set to be released Friday. The figures could shed more light on whether the economy is cooling or is continuing to roar.
“There’s only one person worth listening to in this entire universe when it comes to this stuff, and that happens to be the plain-speaking Fed chief himself, Jay Powell. He’s been consistent the whole time,” Cramer said. “He raised rates until he feared he could tip us into a recession, then he stopped raising rates and the economy got hot again. But then interest rates went higher on their own and now we’ve gotten some brown shoots that are helping to slow the economy.”
Even though Powell didn’t suggest in his remarks after the Fed’s two-day meeting that there will be a rate cut in the near future, Cramer stressed that he managed to take “the dreaded rate hike scenario off the table.” The central bank also decided it would slow the price of bond sales, which Cramer called a “dovish sign.”
Cramer appreciated Powell’s assurance that there are no signs of stagflation in the economy, as many have feared, suggesting current data does not give weight to those concerns. Stagflation usually occurs when inflation and unemployment are both high and economic growth is slow.
“He’s not talking about tightening. He just thinks that inflation will gradually go away on its own, making him more of a dove than a hawk,” Cramer said. “When asked about stagflation, the worst case scenario for stocks, he actually made a joke, saying he didn’t see the stag or the ‘flation.”
