Jim Cramer says the economy is stabilizing and can avoid a recession

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said on Thursday that the economy may be on the verge of a soft landing, despite what Wall Street bears may believe.

“It doesn’t have to be a recession. The economy just needs to stabilize at a lower level, which I think is already starting to happen. I bet that became the most likely outcome,” he said.

Stocks rose on Thursday, ending the S&P 500’s longest losing streak since October. Fears about the possibility of a recession rocked the market, putting stocks on pace to end the week in negative territory.

Cramer argued that Wall Street had scared itself unnecessarily into thinking a recession was coming due to bearish economic commentary from bank executives, misconceptions about food prices that have actually fallen, and a shortage of labor. of work which is gradually being resolved.

“Basically, the [Federal Reserve] doesn’t have to bring the pain if we inflict the pain on ourselves, and I think that’s exactly what we do,” he said.

He added that there are other indications that the economy is cooling, including the glut of chips that tech companies are facing due to falling demand for PCs. U.S. consumers are also spending less overall, leading retailers to manage excess inventory themselves and sell their products to low-cost retailers.

“You can say this is all unique. Go ahead, consider me anecdotal and not empirical. But for me, the writing is already on the wall,” Cramer said.