Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Says U.S. Facing ‘Unacceptable Levels of Inflation’

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday (Jun 7) acknowledged that United States is currently facing “unacceptable levels of inflation.”

In testimony to the Senate Finance Committee, Yellen claimed that the pandemic’s effect on supply chains, and high food and energy prices caused by Russia’s war, had contributed to high inflation across rich countries.

“We currently face macroeconomic challenges, including unacceptable levels of inflation, as well as the headwinds associated with the disruptions caused by the pandemic’s effect on supply chains, and the effects of supply side disturbances to oil and food markets resulting from Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Yellen testified before the Senate Finance Committee.

“To dampen inflationary pressures without undermining the strength of the labor market, an appropriate budgetary stance is needed to complement monetary policy actions by the Federal Reserve.” she added.

Earlier last week, Yellen acknowledged she had previously misjudged the trajectory of inflation in the U.S.

“I think I was wrong then about the path that inflation would take,” Yellen said. “As I mentioned, there have been unanticipated and large shocks to the economy — the boosted energy and food prices and supply bottlenecks that have affected our economy badly — that at the time I didn’t fully understand.”

In 2021, Yellen had gone on record saying that threat of inflation is minimal and easily manageable.

“To get a sustained high inflation like we had in the 1970s, I absolutely don’t expect that.” she said during an interview with CNN.