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Bessent applauds reduction in Fed guidance, says 'dot plot' should be abandoned

BY Reuters | ECONOMIC | 08:18 AM EDT

WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday applauded Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's plan to reduce forward rate guidance, but said Fed policy makers need to keep an open mind on the inflation impact of the Iran conflict and productivity gains driven by artificial intelligence models.

Bessent, in an interview with CNBC, also backed Warsh's decision not to submit an interest-rate path projection -- known as the "dot plot" -- as part of quarterly economic projections.

"I don't think anyone should do dot projections. The only reason I ever liked the dots was when I had my investment business, we had a trading model that actually traded against the dots, because the dots are always wrong," Bessent said. (Reporting by Susan Heavey and David Lawder)

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