But Decades‐High Inflation Is Pushing Fed to Raise Interest Rates

PNC’s newest National Economic Outlook is available for download here.

Some notes from PNC Chief Economist Gus Faucher follow:

• The U.S. economic expansion will continue in 2022, although growth will slow over the course of the year. Inflation should ease in 2022 but will remain above the Federal Reserve’s 2% objective this year.
• PNC’s semiannual Survey of Small and Middle-Market Business Owners for Spring 2022 finds businesspeople highly optimistic about economic conditions and especially their own company’s near-term prospects. However, confidence is down somewhat from the last survey in Fall 2021, with concerns about inflation especially notable.
• Supply chains remain a problem, but business owners expect an easing this year.
• The tight labor market remains a problem for many businesses.
• The survey was taken in early 2022, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. is one of the largest diversified financial services institutions in the United States, organized around its customers and communities for strong relationships and local delivery of retail and business banking including a full range of lending products; specialized services for corporations and government entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and asset-based lending; wealth management and asset management. For information about PNC, visit www.pnc.com.