Banking crisis is fighting inflation for Powell and the Fed

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday said the Federal Reserve no longer needs action to tame inflation — and it’s because of the banking crisis.

Cramer said 10 days ago that investors were expecting a possible 50-basis-point interest rate hike from the Fed based on Chairman Jerome Powell’s recent response to January inflation data and the strong labor market.

Powell warned that if inflation remained strong, he expected rates to go “higher than previously anticipated” and possibly faster than a quarter point at a time.

It seemed like a 50 basis point rate hike was coming until the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Cramer said.