Fed voiced determination at last meeting to curb inflation
Federal Reserve officials at their last meeting stressed their commitment to taming “unacceptably high’’ inflation before announcing that they were raising their benchmark interest rate by a substantial three-quarters of a point for a third straight time and signaling more large rate hikes ahead
Federal Reserve officials at their last meeting stressed their commitment to taming “unacceptably high’’ inflation before announcing that they were raising their benchmark interest rate by a substantial three-quarters of a point for a third straight time and signaling more large rate hikes ahead.
In minutes from their Sept. 20-21 meeting released Wednesday, the Fed policymakers judged that a “softening of the labor market’’ — likely including higher unemployment — would be needed to curb the nation's inflationary pressures. They noted that hiring remained “robust," which itself fuels high inflation as wages rise sharply.
The minutes show that the policymakers expressed concern during their meeting that the U.S. economy might be vulnerable to damage from a sputtering Chinese economy and a slowdown in Europe arising from Russia's war against Ukraine.