WASHINGTON: The United States is likely to see inflation return to the range of the Federal Reserve’s two percent target by the end of next year, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Wednesday.

“I think when we come to the end of 2024, two is certainly likely to be the first numeral” in the inflation figure, she told CNBC in an interview.

The Fed aims to bring inflation down to its longer run target of two percent as it hikes interest rates, and Yellen’s comments came hours before the central bank was to announce its next rate decision.

Yellen sees ‘resilience’ in US economy even as it cools

For now, the world’s biggest economy is on track to achieve a “soft landing,” Yellen said, referring to a scenario in which inflation cools without a major recession.

While she acknowledged that “there is always some recession risk,” she does not think it is especially high, noting resilience in consumer spending and in the labor market.

She added that while inflation has “come down meaningfully,” there is some way to go for the Fed to reach its objective.

This week, a closely watched gauge known as the consumer price index showed consumer inflation coming down to 3.1 percent on an annual basis, down significantly from the peak of 9.1 percent in June 2022.