National Economic Council Deputy Director Bharat Ramamurti told Bloomberg TV on Tuesday that inflation was a global problem but added that the United States was "well prepared."

Ramamurti further argued that oil refiners were to blame for high prices.

Market reaction

Markets remain risk-averse following these comments. As of writing, the S&P 500 Index was down 0.4% on a daily basis at 3,734. In the meantime, the US Dollar Index clings to modest daily gains and trades at its highest level since December 2002 at 105.40.