Weakening..

 

The Wharton finance professor, Jeremy Siegel, in his weekly commentary for WisdomTree on Monday, rejected Jim Bullard's suggestion that interest rates may need to reach 7% to beat back inflation. Siegel said he had no idea what data the St. Louis Fed chief has been looking at.

In response to inflation surging to a 40-year high this year, the Fed has hiked rates from near zero in March to a range of 3.75% to 4% today, in a bid to cool demand and slow the rate of price increases. 

The US central bank has signaled rates could peak above 5%, as it continues to see inflation as a serious threat.

However, Siegel flagged evidence of dwindling inflation and a weakening US economy in his commentary. He pointed to recent data for producer prices, retail sales, employment, and home sales.