JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said on Wednesday that he still thinks a recession is the most likely scenario for the U.S. economy, saying that the odds of a "soft landing" for the economy are approximately 35-40%.
When asked by CNBC’s Leslie Picker if he changed his mind since February, when he said that markets were too optimistic on recession risks, Dimon said that the odds are about the same now as then.
"There’s a lot of uncertainty out there. I’ve always pointed to geopolitics, housing, the deficits, the spending, the quantitative tightening, the elections, all these things cause some consternation in markets," Dimon said.
Dimon has warned of an economic "hurricane" since 2022. However, the economy has held up better than he had expected.
Dimon also said that he is "a little bit of a skeptic" that the Federal Reserve can decrease inflation to its 2% target due to future spending on the military and a green economy.
"There’s always a large range of outcomes. I’m fully optimistic that if we have a mild recession, even a harder one, we would be OK. Of course, I’m very sympathetic to people who lose their jobs. You don’t want a hard landing," Dimon said.