Bessent Says US Has 'Makings' Of One Of The Strongest Economies In History, Says 'Temporarily Elevated Prices' Will Come Down

• Bessent’s comments come amid elevated gas prices, which are up over 40% since the Iran war began in February this year.
• Crude oil prices rose on Wednesday amid rising tensions in the Middle East, with the U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures expiring in July gaining 2.41% to hover around $96.02 a barrel.
• Bessent also said during the hearing that the Treasury Department will drop the proposal to put President Trump’s face on the $250 note if the law does not pass muster.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday said that he believes the U.S. has the “makings” of one of the strongest economies in its history.

During a Senate hearing, Bessent stated that core inflation and food prices have dropped since President Donald Trump took office in January last year.

“We’ve had 2.6% growth, and core inflation has dropped. Food inflation since President Trump began, much as you all want to disagree, is 2.5%. I think we have all the makings for a very strong economy,” he added.

Bessent Downplays Elevated Inflation

Bessent characterized the recent rise in inflation as temporary, despite the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index advancing 3.8% in April on an annualized basis.

“I think that we have temporarily elevated prices, [which] will come back down,” he said.

This comes amid elevated gas prices, which are up over 40% since the Iran war began in February this year. According to data from AAA gas prices, the current national average for a gallon of gas is $4.261.

Crude oil prices rose on Wednesday amid rising tensions in the Middle East. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures expiring in July gained 2.41% to hover around $96.02 a barrel. Brent crude futures expiring in August were up 2.05%, at $97.97 a barrel.

The United States Oil Fund ETF (USO) and the ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF (UCO) were up about 3% at the time of writing.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis revised first-quarter (Q1) GDP growth lower to 1.6% last month from its previous estimate of 2.0%, falling short of Wall Street’s expectations for 2.0% growth. It marked the second consecutive quarter in which GDP growth missed forecasts.

In the fourth quarter (Q4), the U.S. economy expanded at an annualized rate of 0.5%, below the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 0.7%, according to BEA data.

Update On $250 Bill With Trump’s Face

Bessent also said during the hearing that the Treasury Department will drop the proposal to put President Trump’s face on the $250 note if the law does not pass muster.

“We were prepared in advance at Treasury. We do things in advance. My predecessors seem to scramble to do things at the last minute,” he said.

A report stated last month that Trump administration officials have repeatedly urged the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to prepare prototypes of the $250 note.

The report added that officials in the Trump administration provided prototype designs for the $250 note featuring President Trump’s face in the center. The designs also included the signatures of the President and Bessent.

Portraits of living people have been outlawed since 1866, after the face of a mid-level Treasury bureaucrat appeared on a five-cent bill. However, legislation to allow President Trump’s portrait on a new $250 bill was introduced in Congress last year.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities declined in Wednesday’s midday trade. At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was down 0.7%; the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) fell 0.53%; and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) declined 0.9%. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits regarding the S&P 500 ETF was in the ‘bullish’ territory.

Also See: Apple Investors Looking For A WWDC Boost May Be Disappointed, UBS Warns

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.