Barkin is president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, he spoke in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
Many signs that consumers with low and moderate incomes are more stretched today than they were a few years ago, including:
- Sales of private-label goods are up
- Walmart’s earnings are good
- Firms report that consumers are trading down from beef to chicken
Which means they could curb their spending and lessen the inflationary impact of tariffs.
Barkin:
- we will see some inflation , but I think it’s going to be more moderate than people think
- we’re not walking into a 2022 situation where consumers are flush with cash and bound to spend
- we’re in a 2025 situation where consumers are feeling somewhat stretched and therefore, you know, are making choices
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.