Jim Cramer sees signs that inflation pressures are easing, believes Fed policy approach is right
CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Tuesday he’s encouraged by a number of inflation-related developments, contending they lend further credence to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s outlook that many price pressures will be temporary.
The “Mad Money” host pointed to declines in prices for chemicals that serve as economic “building blocks” such as polyethylene, as well as the fact that oil has been “stuck” in the mid-to-low $80s per barrel instead of breaking out near $100 like some had predicted.
“I don’t think Powell needs to slam the brakes on the economy,” Cramer said, referring to suggestions that the central bank needs to raise interest rates in response to hot inflation data. “Despite what you hear from the inflationistas and the media, the weight of the evidence is finally going Powell’s way—team transitory is going to win.”
Cramer said there’s additional reasons for this belief such as a Morgan Stanley research note regarding improvements to production at Malaysian semiconductor factories known as fabs. That should help ease the chip shortage that’s damaged key industries such as autos and caused prices of used cars to surge, Cramer said.
“I know Taiwan Semi, the largest foundry in the world, it’s not done. It’s still got a problem, still isn’t producing enough chips, and the Malaysian plants can’t make up for that shortfall,” Cramer said. “But do you know how fast the price of used cars will plummet once the automakers can ramp up the production of new ones?” he asked rhetorically.
Another worrisome supply chain problem — congestion at U.S. ports — appears to be seeing improvements, too, Cramer said. He referred to a Bloomberg report Tuesday that the number of lingering cargo containers at the Port of Los Angeles has fallen 29%.
“Can we really ignore that number? Remember, the White House has taken all sorts of steps to sort out the port situation. I don’t think they’re totally futile,” he said.
