Recent economic data have been the Fed’s ‘worst nightmare,’ economist says

The economy is looking pretty dreadful, and that won’t make the Federal Reserve’s job any easier as it tries to engineer a soft economic landing, one top Wall Street economist warns.

“I would say that the recent economic data have been central banks’ worst nightmare,” said Citi Global Chief Economist Nathan Sheets on Yahoo Finance Live (video above). “On the one hand, I would say there is very clear evidence of a slowing in global demand. And on the other hand, there is also clear evidence that inflation pressures are persisting. You kind of put that together, it’s really hard for central banks to fight that.”

The reads on the economy have collectively painted a picture of a slowing U.S. economy stuck with stubbornly high inflation.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said last week that second-quarter GDP fell 0.9% as consumers and businesses pulled back on their spending due to rising prices for goods and services. This marked the second-straight quarter of economic contraction after GDP in the first quarter declined by 1.6%.

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