US Economy Sends Mixed Signals Ahead of Key Fed Meeting
The US economy is sending mixed signals ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting. The number of Americans filing for unemployment has reached a new low, not seen in over 50 years, with jobless claims dropping to an estimated 187,000 last week.
This bit of good news is underscored by a strong stock market and an artificial intelligence boom, signs President Donald Trump has pointed to for his read on the economy. However, Josh Bivens, Chief Economist with the Economic Policy Institute, noted that there are 'weird mixture of very low hiring, but very low layoffs'.
Bivens also warned that the inability to bring the war in Iran to an end and reopen the world's biggest shipping waterway has meant oil and gas prices are spiking once again. This has impacted not just the cost to fill up at the pump but the price of groceries and travel, expanding the risk of increasing inflation.
Predicting that inflation will rise to 3.5% this year, Bivens said it 'will erase a lot of real income gains for a lot of Americans.' President Trump has implemented new tariffs on goods from over 80 countries, which could further exacerbate the situation.