new york sept 28 reuters  deputy us treasury secretary wally adeyemo said on wednesday the biden administration feels confident about the us economy going forward and that it is possible to bring down inflation while maintaining growth we come into this moment from a position of strength he said adding that consumer and corporate balance sheets are in good shape he was speaking at an investment conference in new york asked whether the us economy was heading to a recession adeyemo said there was a path to reduce price pressures while maintaining momentum in the us economy and a healthy labor market the us is facing stubbornly high inflation which the federal reserve is seeking to counter by tightening monetary conditions through a series of rapid and sizeable interest rate hikes that have raised the prospect of an upcoming economic contraction adeyemo however said a soft landing  that the fed may tame inflation and avoid a recession  was possible but that external factors that have led to higher prices such as russias war in ukraine and covid19 lockdowns continue to be headwinds for the us economy we have the capacity  to take steps that we need to bring down inflation but also make the needed investments to make sure that the economy continues to grow he said reporting by davide barbuscia carolina mandl and doina chiacu editing by chizu nomiyama