Economics

Powell Could Put Up With 2.5% Inflation to Keep Growth Pumping

  • Economists see Fed tolerating above-target price rises
  • Small overshoot above 2% goal not a problem, Dudley says
Jay Pelosky of Pelosky Global Strategies and Bloomberg’s Mike McKee preview Fed Chair Jay Powell’s testimony.(Source: Bloomberg)
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Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and his colleagues may be willing to accept inflation rising as high as 2.5 percent as they seek to extend the almost nine-year economic expansion.

So say a number of veteran Fed watchers who argue that the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee would tolerate a moderate rise in inflation above its 2 percent goal after years of falling below that objective. Powell delivers his first testimony to Congress as Fed chief on Feb. 27 and March 1.