Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has a message for anyone sweating over the recent spike in inflation and oil prices: hang tight, relief is coming.

In a chat with CNBC's Joe Kernen on Thursday, Bessent said he's confident the current price pressures will ease quickly once the Strait of Hormuz blockade is resolved. West Texas crude, which has been trading above $100 a barrel, is expected to drop significantly in the coming months. Why? The market is well-supplied, the UAE is leaving OPEC, and other energy producers are ramping up output.

"Nothing is more transient than a supply shock," Bessent said. He added that despite the Iranian conflict, core inflation had been falling before the conflict and should keep declining.

Bessent also touted the U.S. as an energy superpower, predicting record production levels will keep rising. That should bring down energy and gasoline prices fast, which in turn will cool inflation. "We may get a series, one or two more hot inflation numbers, but then I think we're going to see substantial disinflation," he said.

On the new Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh, who was recently confirmed, Bessent said he's optimistic about Warsh's open-minded approach. The new Fed chief is in "a very good position," Bessent noted.

Inflation Outlook Divides Analysts

Bessent's prediction comes after a big jump in consumer price inflation, which hit 3.8% in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The main culprit: the energy shock from the Strait of Hormuz blockade. The Producer Price Index also surged from 4.3% year-over-year in March to 6% in April, adding to worries about the Fed's rate path.

But not everyone is panicking. Jeff Rosenberg, a senior portfolio manager at BlackRock Inc. (BLK), said markets may be looking past the scary headline numbers. The underlying data was "a little bit better in the details," he noted, pointing to softer core PCE trends and easing tariff-driven inflation pressures. Rosenberg added that tariff-related inflation could fade in the coming months, aligning with Fed President John Williams' view that pass-through effects may gradually ease even if energy prices stay high.

On the flip side, Ross Gerber, co-founder of Gerber Kawasaki, criticized government policies for fueling inflation and volatility in the U.S. bond market. He warned that citizens will ultimately "pay the price" for policy decisions ahead of the 2026 midterms.