WASHINGTON: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that the US central bank could reduce the pace of interest rate hikes “as soon as December”, as its campaign to cool prices moves through the economy. .
With consumer spending rising among U.S. households, the Fed has waged an all-out battle to contain inflation not seen since the 1980s — while plunging the world’s largest economy into recession. Tried to avoid.
In a speech at the Brookings Institution on Wednesday, Powell said the time to moderate the pace of rate hikes could come as soon as the December meeting, referring to an upcoming gathering of policymakers.
He added that the full impact of the Fed’s actions was yet to be felt, but cautioned that policy would likely have to remain tight for some time to restore price stability.
The central bank has raised the benchmark lending rate by 0.75 percentage points four consecutive times in recent months, out of six rate hikes this year, in an aggressive bid to rein in inflation.