Biden Says Fed Will Cut Interest Rates by Year’s End, Raising Questions About Central Bank’s Independence.

President Joe Biden is standing by his prediction that the Federal Reserve will enact an interest rate cut before the end of the year. The President doubled down on the rate cut prediction despite a Consumer Price Index (CPI) print released on Wednesday suggesting that inflation was reaccelerating.

“Well, I do stand by my prediction that, before the year is out, there’ll be a rate cut,” Biden said during a Wednesday press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The President suggested that the hot CPI report would only delay a rate cut by a month or two.

Biden’s comments raised renewed concerns about the political independence of the U.S. central bank in an election year. Many Democrats believe a Federal Reserve interest rate cut could juice the economy and boost President Biden’s re-election efforts. In a speech last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell insisted the central bank does not allow partisan considerations to impact their monetary policy decision.