<p>A recession in the United States is not "inevitable," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday, just days after the US Federal Reserve hiked interest rates, raising fears of an economic contraction.</p>.<p>"I expect the economy to slow" as it transitions to stable growth, she said on ABC's "This Week," but "I don't think a recession is at all inevitable."</p>.<p>The US economy has recovered strongly from the damage wrought by Covid-19, but soaring inflation and supply-chain snarls exacerbated by the war in Ukraine have increased pessimism.</p>.<p>Wall Street stocks tumbled after the US central bank on Wednesday raised the benchmark borrowing rate by 0.75 percentage points, the sharpest rise in nearly 30 years.</p>.<p>And economists see worrying signs that consumer confidence is weakening, with people beginning to hold off on vacation plans, dining out or doing home repairs.</p>.<p>Yellen conceded that "clearly inflation is unacceptably high," attributing it partly to the war in Ukraine, which has pushed up energy and food prices.</p>.<p>But she said she did not believe that "a dropoff in consumer spending is the likely cause of a recession."</p>.<p>Yellen argued that the US labor market is "arguably the strongest of the postwar period" and she predicted that the pace of inflation would slow in coming months.</p>.<p>She acknowledged, however, that as Fed chair Jerome Powell works to control inflation while preserving labor-market strength, "That's going to take skill and luck."</p>.<p>Soaring gas prices -- at some $5 a gallon, they have roughly doubled in a few years -- are a pressing concern for many Americans.</p>.<p>Asked about proposals for a temporary suspension in federal gas taxes, Yellen expressed openness.</p>.<p>US President Joe Biden "wants to do anything he possibly can to help consumers," she said. "And that's an idea that's certainly worth considering."</p>.<p>As to whether Biden might move further to lower consumer prices by lifting tariffs on Chinese goods, Yellen demurred.</p>.<p>Reworking the Donald Trump-era tariffs "is something that's under consideration," she said.</p>.<p>"I don't want to get ahead of where the policy process is."</p>
<p>A recession in the United States is not "inevitable," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday, just days after the US Federal Reserve hiked interest rates, raising fears of an economic contraction.</p>.<p>"I expect the economy to slow" as it transitions to stable growth, she said on ABC's "This Week," but "I don't think a recession is at all inevitable."</p>.<p>The US economy has recovered strongly from the damage wrought by Covid-19, but soaring inflation and supply-chain snarls exacerbated by the war in Ukraine have increased pessimism.</p>.<p>Wall Street stocks tumbled after the US central bank on Wednesday raised the benchmark borrowing rate by 0.75 percentage points, the sharpest rise in nearly 30 years.</p>.<p>And economists see worrying signs that consumer confidence is weakening, with people beginning to hold off on vacation plans, dining out or doing home repairs.</p>.<p>Yellen conceded that "clearly inflation is unacceptably high," attributing it partly to the war in Ukraine, which has pushed up energy and food prices.</p>.<p>But she said she did not believe that "a dropoff in consumer spending is the likely cause of a recession."</p>.<p>Yellen argued that the US labor market is "arguably the strongest of the postwar period" and she predicted that the pace of inflation would slow in coming months.</p>.<p>She acknowledged, however, that as Fed chair Jerome Powell works to control inflation while preserving labor-market strength, "That's going to take skill and luck."</p>.<p>Soaring gas prices -- at some $5 a gallon, they have roughly doubled in a few years -- are a pressing concern for many Americans.</p>.<p>Asked about proposals for a temporary suspension in federal gas taxes, Yellen expressed openness.</p>.<p>US President Joe Biden "wants to do anything he possibly can to help consumers," she said. "And that's an idea that's certainly worth considering."</p>.<p>As to whether Biden might move further to lower consumer prices by lifting tariffs on Chinese goods, Yellen demurred.</p>.<p>Reworking the Donald Trump-era tariffs "is something that's under consideration," she said.</p>.<p>"I don't want to get ahead of where the policy process is."</p>