It has ‘lost a little bit of control of inflation’

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Thursday that containing inflation remains a work in progress for the Federal Reserve, while noting the U.S. economy continues to show signs of strength.

“I have all the respect for [Fed Chair Jerome] Powell, but the fact is we lost a little bit of control of inflation,” Dimon said in an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer during the “Halftime Report.” It’s the first of a two-part interview with Cramer, with the second installment airing later Thursday on “Mad Money.”

Dimon’s comments came one day after the Fed released the minutes from its Jan. 31-Feb.1 meeting, which showed members remain resolved to fight persistent inflation.

“Participants noted that inflation data received over the past three months showed a welcome reduction in the monthly pace of price increases but stressed that substantially more evidence of progress across a broader range of prices would be required to be confident that inflation was on a sustained downward path,” the minutes said.

Dimon himself said he expects that interest rates could “possibly” remain higher for longer, as it may take the central bank “a while” to get to its goal of 2% inflation.

Even so, the JPMorgan CEO said he’s not currently breaking out the recession playbook, as he is encouraged by the strength of the U.S. economy.

“The U.S. economy right now is doing quite well. Consumers have a lot of money. They’re spending it. Jobs are plentiful,” Dimon said. “That’s today. Out in front of us, there’s some scary stuff. You and I know there’s always uncertainty. That’s a normal thing.”

Those comments contrast with Dimon’s previous remarks in October. At that time, he said the U.S. economy will likely fall into a recession in six to nine months. In December, he said higher inflation was eroding consumer wealth, which would lead into a recession this year.

The Fed declined to comment on the story.