JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon warns inflation and interest rates may stay higher

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Friday issued another warning about inflation despite recent signs of easing in price pressures.

“There has been some progress bringing inflation down, but there are still multiple inflationary forces in front of us: large fiscal deficits, infrastructure needs, restructuring of trade and remilitarization of the world,” Dimon said in a statement along with the bank’s second-quarter results. “Therefore, inflation and interest rates may stay higher than the market expects.”

His comments came after this week’s data showed the monthly inflation rate dipped in June for the first time in more than four years, which fueled bets that the Federal Reserve could cut rates soon.

The consumer price index, a broad measure of the costs for goods and services across the U.S. economy, declined 0.1% in June from May, putting the 12-month rate at 3%, around its lowest level in more than three years.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell earlier this week expressed concern that holding interest rates too high for too long could jeopardize economic growth, teasing that rate reductions could be on the horizon as long as inflation continues to show progress.

Dimon joined many economists in sounding the alarm on burgeoning U.S. debt and deficits. The federal government has so far spent $855 billion more than it has collected in the 2024 fiscal year. For fiscal 2023, the government’s deficit spending came in at $1.7 trillion.