President Donald Trump told the room he wants Kevin Warsh “totally independent” as he swore him in as Federal Reserve chairman Friday, then spent the next hour arguing the economy can boom without inflation.
The price data has other ideas.
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Annual inflation hit 3.8% in April, the highest since 2023, up from 2.4% before the war with Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and sent energy prices climbing.
Core inflation held at 2.8%, well above the Fed’s 2% target. Crude has stayed nearly 50% above pre-conflict levels, keeping pressure on oil names Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and on prints the central bank cannot ignore.
