ACCF Scholar: Inflation not ‘going away anytime soon’

CNBC

Former Obama economist Jason Furman (ACCF Scholar) rejected any inflation happy talk on Tuesday and said it was not going away time soon.

Former Obama economist Jason Furman rejected any inflation happy talk on Tuesday, emphasizing that a recession was likely and high prices were not going away “anytime soon.”

“I think the markets are just ridiculously complacent about the inflation situation right now. I look at tips, I look at swaps, they have break-evens of inflation of around 2%, I just don’t see that. I don’t see how we have inflation much below 3% this year, I don’t see it coming down below that without a decent-sized recession. And nothing in this number gives me comfort,” he said.

Furman joined CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday to discuss January’s inflation numbers and the market’s reaction. Inflation rose 6.4% in January on an annual basis and came in higher than expected. The Consumer Price Index, a broad measure of the price of gasoline, groceries and rent, rose 0.5% in January.

Furman also added that anyone who was “calm” about inflation was making him nervous.

“So I think this inflation issue is real. I don’t think it’s going away anytime soon and I think anyone who’s overly calm about it is making me nervous,” he continued.

CNBC host Becky Quick said the January numbers prompted a situation where “the market looks at it and says ‘no news is good news.’”