“My goal in my discussions with Jerome Powell is to get the most recent assessment from him on the likely trajectory of monetary policy here in the US, and to get an updated, real-time assessment from him,” Chalmers said.
loading
The federal budget will be delivered on October 25 and is expected to contain significant but selective spending cuts, designed in part to make room for “essential spending” in areas such as health, aged care and the NDIS.
The lack of rise in wage growth would also be reflected in budget papers, Chalmers said, accusing the previous government of pursuing a “deliberate policy of wage suppression and wage stagnation.”
But the Treasurer also warned that higher energy prices would become a larger part of Australia’s inflation problem over time, noting that work was being done within Cabinet “to see if we can do more to improve conditions for Australians and for the Australian industry in the gas market”.
Speaking later to Nine Network, Chalmers said the US inflation result highlighted the inflation risks facing all countries.
“Enemy number one is this inflation that we all face,” he said. Americans today got an inflation number that was much higher than they expected and that means that the US Federal Reserve, which is already taking action, will take more action. I think it’s that simple. “Here at the G20 meetings talking with my counterparts from around the world, we know that inflation is the biggest threat to our economies.”
Today’s latest US inflation numbers were contained in the latest CPI report distributed ahead of the November midterm elections.
Despite the ominous numbers, US President Joe Biden insisted some progress had been made, with inflation over the past three months at 2 per cent at an annual rate – down from 11 per cent in the previous quarter – but admitted that “prices are still very high”. .
The president has also sought to play down the risks of a recession, telling CNN reporter Jake Tapper in an interview this week, “I don’t think there will be a recession … If it were, it would be a very slight recession.”
However, Chalmers disagreed with Biden’s view, telling reporters in Washington: “I think there are very broad expectations around the world that there is a high risk of recession here in the UK and Europe, and that growth in China has slowed as well.”
“It is clear that the risks of a recession in some major economies have moved from possible to probable – and that will have implications for us.”
Go beyond the hype of federal politics with news, opinions and expert analysis from Jacqueline Malley. Subscribers can sign up for the weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.
Originally published at Melbourne News Vine
No comments:
Post a Comment