Fed chair Powell vows to fight inflation ‘until the job is done’

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated his pledge to stay the course on the central bank’s strong fight against inflation.

“We need to act now, forthrightly, strongly as we have been doing, and we need to keep at it until the job is done,” Powell said at the Cato Institute’s 40th Annual Monetary Conference Thursday. “The Fed has and accepts responsibility for price stability.”

Powell reaffirmed a commitment to a hawkish policy stance to tame inflation that has recorded levels not seen in 40 years.

Investors expect a 75 basis-point hike at the Fed’s upcoming policy-setting meeting on Sept. 20-21. This would be the fifth consecutive increase and the third straight 0.75-point increase.

Powell’s remarks came hours after the European Central Bank raised interest rates by 75 basis-point, also fighting record inflation and a worsening energy crisis that is pushing Europe on the brink of recession.

This was the biggest ECB rate increase since the early days of the monetary union in 1999.

Also, following the same path, the Bank of Canada hiked its interest rate by 75 basis-point on Wednesday.