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The data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) published last month placed inflation at 6.4%; however, it’s still not enough for the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) target for that reason, noting in its semi-annual report that “the committee is firmly committed to bringing inflation back to 2%,” it said.
The stubborn inflation continues to do its thing, however the central bank ruled on the matter and assured that “continuous increases in the target range will be appropriate to achieve a sufficiently restrictive monetary policy stance,” he said.
At last month’s meeting, the Fed announced that at least two more interest rate hikes were necessary. Analysts anticipate that the range would be between 5% and 5.25% by mid-year, everything will depend on the development of the economy in the course of the coming months.
This latest report arrives days before lFed Chairman Jerome Powell appears before the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill this Tuesday. Likewise, it is expected that at the end of this month the committee that sets interest rates will also meet to give details of the next steps.
For their part, the markets seem to give the go-ahead for interest rate rises. While economic data shows, for example, that the consumer price index rose 0.5%, and the cost of food at home increased 11.3% compared to last year, something that is clearly affecting the pockets of Americans .
The last rise in interest rates was 0.25%, placing them in a range of 4.50% and 4.75%, although Powell assured that “for the first time the disinflationary process has begun”, he did not rule out that the battle against inflation will take a long time.
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