Powell Says Rates to Keep Rising Until Proof of Inflation Slowdown

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the Central Bank is “strongly committed” to bringing down inflation and it is moving “expeditiously” to do so, in remarks before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee.

“At the Fed, we understand the hardship high inflation is causing. We are strongly committed to bringing inflation back down, and we are moving expeditiously to do so,” Powell said on Wednesday. “We have both the tools we need and the resolve it will take to restore price stability on behalf of American families and businesses.”

The Fed’s head said economic conditions are favorable with a strong labor market and high demand. However, the Central Bank will keep higher interest rates until there is compelling evidence that inflation is coming down.

“Over coming months, we will be looking for compelling evidence that inflation is moving down, consistent with inflation returning to 2%,” Powell said. “We anticipate that ongoing rate increases will be appropriate, the pace of those changes will depend on the incoming data.”

According to Powell the war in Ukraine and recent lockdowns in China are fueling global inflation.

With inflation at its fastest annual pace in more than 40 years, the Central Bank has raised rates a cumulative 150 basis points over its past three meetings. Just last week a 75-basis point increase marked the biggest single hike since 1994.