- Economist
Mohamed El-Erian said theFederal Reserve needs skill, time, and luck to nail a "soft landing ". - He said the central bank was too slow to tackle
inflation but had now been "humbled" and understood the issue.
Economist Mohamed El-Erian said the Federal Reserve's big steps to tame inflation may be too late and could risk a
Speaking to $4" on Thursday after
He said the market had been guiding the Fed and it had been too slow to recognize and deal with inflation, with a recession risk now looming.
"They're going to need three things: skill, time, and luck to get to a soft landing," El-Erian said, expressing concern about the lack of time the Fed had in controlling inflation due to their delayed response.
A soft landing is the Fed being able to control inflation without plunging the country into a recession. El-Erian and other economists have expressed $4 over the Fed's ability to carry this off and doubt its ability to effectively deal with inflation at 40-year highs. Some economists forecast a recession before the end of the year, as they see the Fed slowing the economy so much it starts to shrink.
"History suggests when the Fed is this late, the probability of a recession is uncomfortably high," El-Erian said. Economists at investment banks like $4 have also expressed doubt over the Fed's the ability to engineer a soft landing.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has added to price pressures that were already surging as economic activity returned to a more normal footing after the pandemic. The cost of food and energy has soared this year, putting consumers under pressure.
In March, the Fed raised interest rates for the first time since 2018 by $4. Hawkish comments from Powell and other Fed officials have set expectations for at least six more rate hikes in 2022.
Investors now largely $4 the Fed to raise rates by 50 basis points at its May, June, and July policy meetings, which would place the benchmark rate at roughly 2% by the end of July.
St. Louis regional Fed President official James Bullard $4 he wouldn't rule out a 75 basis point hike from the US central bank this year, because inflation is "far too high."
El-Erian said the Fed had finally understood the severity of inflation and was acting on it now.
"I think they've got it or they understand much better and they've been humbled."
El-Erian, who is chief economist for German asset manager Allianz, which owns PIMCO, said investors in the stock market would be wise to take profit now, before equities come under further pressure.
"Be careful, if you're heavily invested this is the time to take some chips off the table, we are adjusting liquidity paradigms, and be careful of volatility," he said.