IMF: US economy heads towards a (soft) landing… Fed ‎succeeded in taming inflation

Kristalina Georgieva, head of the International Monetary Fund, said that the US economy is “certainly” heading towards a smooth landing thanks to the “decisiveness” of the Federal Reserve (the central bank) in taming inflation despite some of the pain caused by rising interest rates.

“The Federal Reserve has had the desired effect without pushing the economy into recession,” Georgieva said in an interview with Christiane Amanpour on CNN.

In the middle of last month, US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell identified the most important factors on which the Fed based its decision to fix interest rates for the third time in a row and the fourth time this year, and future economic indicators, stressing that inflation has declined, but it does not… It’s still high.

Powell indicated, during the press conference following the announcement of the Fed’s decision to maintain interest rates, that “the central bank’s efforts to calm inflation have begun to take hold,” adding, “there is a possibility that the American economy will slide into the clutches of recession next year.”

He added: “Inflation has declined from its highest levels, and this came without a significant increase in unemployment. This is very good. But inflation is still very high. Continued progress to rein in inflation is not guaranteed, and the way forward is uncertain.” “After,” stressing that the committee is ready to tighten the policy further

The head of the US Federal Reserve indicated that economic growth slowed significantly in the fourth quarter, explaining at the same time that the central bank believes that the US economy is losing strength in the final months of the year.