U.S. Treasury Secretary Praises Fed Chair Warsh for Dropping Forward Guidance

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent praised Fed Chair Kevin Warsh for removing forward guidance and said no one should make dot-plot predictions. According to Jin10, Bessent said he expected real wage growth to return to its pace seen before April, and he expected the economy to accelerate for the rest of this year without pushing up inflation. Bessent said the U.S. dollar’s dominant role was critical. He added that after the situation in Ukraine ends, Russia would want to return to the dollar-based system, and that a “new Venezuela” was returning to that system. He also said the dollar could remain strong during a period of interest-rate cuts, and that the United States was willing to take the right steps to keep the dollar strong. On Iran, Bessent said the U.S. Treasury would oversee how Iranian funds are allocated. He said the funds would initially be distributed through Qatar, with a large portion used to purchase U.S. food and medicine overseen by the Treasury. He added that any funds Iran receives should belong to the Iranian people.