NEW YORK (Reuters) -JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said on Monday the economy is generating so much inflation that the Federal Reserve might have to raise short-term interest rates more than four times this year.
Speaking to CNBC, Dimon said, “It’s possible that inflation is worse than people think. I, personally, would be surprised if it’s just four increases this year. Four would be very easy for the economy to absorb.”
Dimon spoke after economists at JPMorgan and some other Wall Street banks said they expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates four times this year in a quicker pace than they had predicted earlier.
Citing signs that the economy is strong, Dimon said consumers had never been in better financial shape, evidenced by high checking account balances, payments on debt and increased home values.
But he also warned that financial market volatility will increase as the Fed raises rates.
“If we are lucky, the Fed will slow things down and we will have a soft landing,” he said.
(Reporting by David Henry in New YorkEditing by Nick Zieminski)
