By Greg Robb
Downplays signals of weak first-quarter economic growth
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday played down the recent weakness in the stock market, saying the White House was focused on the long term.
“I’m not concerned about a little bit of volatility over three weeks,” Bessent said in an interview on CNBC.
The S&P 500 SPX is down 6% since the beginning of the month.
Bessent said stocks remained “a safe and great investment over the long term.”
The Treasury secretary also said a possible government shutdown would be “incredibly disruptive.”
Asked if a shutdown would cause economic harm, Bessent replied: “It can’t be good.”
Asked about the Atlanta Fed’s widely followed GDPNow model, which shows the economy contracting at a 2.4% annualized rate in the first quarter, Bessent noted that researchers at the Fed bank said that growth would be at a positive 0.4% rate when gold imports are excluded.
“So I’m not worried about a very noisy indicator,” he said.
The Treasury Secretary took another stab at his prior assertion that the U.S. economy is facing “a detox period.” His comment, echoed by President Donald Trump, suggested the administration wasn’t so worried about a severe downturn in growth.
Asked if detox was a euphemism for recession, Bessent said, “Not at all.” He said it depends on how fast the Trump economic team can help transition away from excessive government spending to private sector growth.
“Our goal is to have a smooth transition. We are trying to get this tax bill done,” he said.
-Greg Robb
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03-13-25 1216ET
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