Inflation ‘Overshoot’ Concerns Fade Into the Sunset as Powell Projects Rate Hikes
- Powell talked about symmetry and said price goal is elusive
- Still, committee expects just 2 percent inflation for years
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The Federal Reserve spent early 2018 assuring investors it wouldn’t fret if inflation climbed above its 2 percent target. That possibility now looks increasingly distant.
Oil prices have slumped, weighing on expectations. Housing, a big inflation contributor throughout this cycle, is cooling. And while the core version of the Fed’s preferred price index touched 2 percent this year, Fed research found that potentially fleeting factors drove the increase. Commerce Department data published Friday showed that core inflation came in at 1.9 percent in the year through November -- close to, but still shy of, the Fed’s goal.