Fed ‘Moving Expeditiously’ to Bring Down Inflation, Says Powell
With speed and efficiency, the United States Federal Reserve is committed to bringing down inflation and will continue to act as needed to achieve that goal, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in a prepared statement before Senate Banking Committee Wednesday.
“We are strongly committed to bringing inflation back down, and we are moving expeditiously to do so,” Powell said in the statement. “We have both the tools we need and the resolve it will take to restore price stability on behalf of American families and businesses.”
The war in Ukraine has boosted prices of gasoline and fuel, while COVID-related lockdowns in China are “likely to exacerbate ongoing supply chain disruptions,” Powell said, adding that inflation is well above target and the labour market remains “extremely tight.”
Powell said the Fed will be looking for “compelling evidence” that inflation is moving down over the coming months but repeated further interest rate increases will likely be appropriate and the pace of rate changes will be based on the incoming data. He noted the US economy remains strong and can withstand further rate increases.
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“We will make our decisions meeting by meeting, and we will continue to communicate our thinking as clearly as possible,” Powell said. “Our overarching focus is using our tools to bring inflation back down to our 2 per cent goal and to keep longer-term inflation expectations well anchored.” # Fed ‘Moving Expeditiously’ to Bring Down Inflation, Says Powell
