Cramer says economic data cannot capture one of the huge drivers of inflation

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Thursday that a big driver of inflation is consumer willingness to spend money to reopen the economy — a fact that isn’t reflected in data studied by the Federal Reserve and Wall Street.

“They don’t care about higher rates. They have savings because they’ve done nothing for two years,” He said. “My greatest concern right now is that the collected data cannot capture the nature of this…a one-time rapture.”

Stocks fell on Thursday after a strong start to the week that faded on Wednesday. Investors are looking forward Friday’s non-farm payrolls report to gauge the size of the Fed’s upcoming rate hike.

If job and wage growth is stronger than expected, the Fed is likely to continue its aggressive campaign course.

While the surge in travel this summer showed Americans were eager to engage in retaliatory travel after Covid restrictions were eased, some are now also facingstagnation stressDiminishing incentive to continue making smart financial choices to prepare for the challenging economic times ahead.

Cramer indicated that he anticipates consumers’ need to spend to eventually run out, although that may not happen any time soon.

“A year from now, there will probably be no euphoria. It will be over. They will have spent their excess savings. And that is exactly when interest rates are likely to be at their maximum,” Kramer said.