U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sought Wednesday to project confidence in the U.S. financial outlook while pledging vigilance in responding to “risks on the horizon.”
She is offering that message as global finance leaders gather in Washington to discuss the increasingly dismal view of the global economy.
“Our economy remains resilient in the face of global economic headwinds,” Yellen said in remarks prepared for delievery at a meeting on the sidelines of this week’s annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and its sister-lending agency, the World Bank.
Her remarks to the Bretton Woods Committee’s International Council crediting President Joe Biden’s domestic policies for contributing to U.S. economic strength came as administration officials try to talk up the president’s policies ahead of midterm elections. Those elections will decide the balance of power in Congress and statehouses across the nation. Democrats — with no margin for error — are fighting to retain control of the House and Senate.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has driven up food and energy prices globally — in some places exponentially, exposing vulnerabilities in the global food and energy supply. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation and worsening climate conditions are also impacting world economies and exacerbating other crises, like high debt levels held by lower-income countries.
