Powell: Rate hikes may slow, but inflation fight hardly over
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sought to strike a delicate balance at a moment when high inflation is bedeviling the nation’s economy and commanding a central role in the midterm elections
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
Published - Nov 03, 2022, 12:04 AM ET
Last Updated - Jun 23, 2023, 08:57 PM EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sought Wednesday to strike a delicate balance at a moment when high inflation is bedeviling the nation’s economy and commanding a central role in the midterm elections.
When the Fed ended its latest policy meeting Wednesday, it announced that it was pumping up its benchmark rate by a substantial three-quarters of a point for a fourth straight time. Its key rate now stands in a range of 3.75% to 4%, the highest in 15 years.
It was the central bank’s sixth rate hike this year — a streak that has made mortgages and other consumer and business loans increasingly expensive and heightened the risk of a recession.
