Never Mind Peak Inflation. Powell Wisely Eyes the Long Term.
The Federal Reserve chair poured cold water on the notion that the central bank might back off rate increases.
Eyes on inflation.
Photographer: Win McNamee/Getty Images
US inflation has been high enough for long enough that the debate about whether price increases have peaked is back in fashion. The question is as misplaced now as it was a few months ago. In reality, signs that inflation will stay too high for comfort mean that the US is probably set for a period of higher interest rates, even if price rises appear to crest.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made that clear Wednesday, when he told the audience at a European Central Bank policy forum in Sintra, Portugal, that the real concern is that the US might be facing sustained higher inflation well above the Fed’s 2% target.