Why Trump's return could spark another bout of inflation and delay interest rate cuts
Business / Economy
Why Trumps return could spark another bout of inflation and delay interest rate cuts
Analysis by Hanna Ziady, CNN
4 minute read Updated 11:52 AM EST, Wed November 6, 2024
London (CNN) Inflation is likely to rise in the United States and around the world if newly elected US President Donald Trump follows through on his campaign promises to cut taxes, crack down on immigration and hike tariffs on all imported goods. ... Together with a Republican majority in the US Senate, Trumps historic reelection, which CNN projected Wednesday, puts the former president in a strong position to implement his potentially radical economic agenda.
US stock markets opened sharply higher, buoyed by Trumps decisive victory. Treasury yields or market interest rates spiked, while the dollar has rallied against major currencies, partly as traders price in higher domestic inflation and therefore fewer interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. (Higher interest rates tend to boost the value of a currency by attracting more capital from abroad as investors seek bigger returns.)
Trumps proposed economic policies including deporting immigrants, across-the-board tariffs and increased political influence on the Fed would, if fully implemented, likely lead to a substantial decrease in US economic output and a large increase in inflation, said Antonio Fatás, an economics professor at INSEAD, a business school headquartered in France.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown, echoed some of these views. The stronger dollar reflects expectations that Trump will cut taxes, hike tariffs and clamp down on immigration, which are all inflationary and likely to mean more elevated interest rates in the years to come, she wrote in a note Wednesday. ... Investors are bracing for tariffs
which will push up the price of imported goods for American shoppers, she added. Trumps vow to kick out immigrants with waves of deportations could also have economic ramifications, potentially pushing up wage bills for companies.
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