Inflation is too high and the central bank needs to move quicker to get it under control by raising interest rates, said Gilbert Garcia, a managing partner at Garcia Hamilton & Associates in Houston.
“I wished we’d retire the word ‘transitory,’” Garcia said, at the CNBC Financial Advisor Summit on Wednesday, speaking of predictions that the recent rise in prices are temporary.
“Inflation is running at 6%, probably well over 6%, no matter how you look at it,” he added. “It’s pretty clear that it’s longer than transitory and it’s much hotter than their inflationary target.”
He said it was time for the Federal Reserve to lift rates, saying that the government is currently keeping them “artificially low.”
The central bank has indicated that it could raise rates earlier than previously expected, with the first hike potentially coming as early as this spring. Rates have been near zero since the pandemic began in the U.S. in March 2020.
Rising prices are most hurting those who can least afford it, Garcia added.
“Everyday Americans are having a very difficult time with food inflation, which is running very close to 30% and 40%,” he said.
“This 6% inflation is devastating,” Garcia said. “We’ve got to get that inflation back to a more normal, containable level.”