Ken Griffin says more tariff impact on inflation is still ahead, Fed should be independent
Billionaire Wall Street titan Ken Griffin believes the full impact of tariffs on inflation have not been felt yet, and he only sees one more rate cut from the Federal Reserve this year. The founder and CEO of Citadel said Thursday only about half of the inflationary impact from President Donald Trump’s wide-spreading levies on U.S. trading partners has passed through the economy. As a result, the investor only expects moderate easing from the central bank. “The inflationary impulse from tariffs has only passed about 50% through the economy at this point. It’s still coming,” Griffin told Sara Eisen on CNBC’s ” Money Movers .” “The consumer’s going to pay…. I would not underestimate how grating a 3% inflation rate could be to tens of millions of American households.” Tariffs can stoke inflation because they increase the cost of imported goods, and those costs often get passed along to consumers. Griffin estimated that inflation next year will be in the mid-2% to 3% range, above the long run 2% target of the Fed. Last week, the Fed approved its first rate cut of the year on the back of slower job growth and signaled two more coming for the remainder of 2025. Still, lower job growth and higher inflation are in conflict with the Fed’s twin goals of stable prices and full employment. The billionaire sees only one more quarter-point cut this year. He did put an outside chance at a third Fed cut this year. Let Fed do its job The central bank has also been a target of criticism from Trump, who has been pushing for drastically lower interest rates to bolster the economy. Trump’s hectoring of the Fed, appointment of his advisor Stephen Miran and attempted firing of Fed Governor Lisa Cook have raised questions over the traditional independence the central bank has had from political influence. Griffin stressed that it’s crucial for the Fed to maintain its independence while trying to navigate the extreme economic uncertainty. “If I were the president, I would let the Fed do their job, and I would let the Fed have as much perceived and real independence as possible, because the Fed often has to make choices that are pretty painful to make,” he said. “If the president’s perceived as being control of the Fed, then what happens when those painful choices have to be made?”
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