Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, told US lawmakers on Tuesday that the Fed will likely need to raise interest rates more than expected on the back of strong data recently, and that he is ready to move in greater steps if subsequent information indicates “in all” that it is necessary. Impose stricter measures to control inflation.
“The latest economic data came in stronger than expected, which indicates that the level that interest rates will reach will likely be higher than previous expectations,” the US central bank chief said, at the start of a hearing before the Senate Banking Committee.
And while some of that unexpected economic strength may be due to warm weather and some other seasonal factors, Powell said the central bank recognizes that there may also be a sign that it needs to do more to rein in inflation, and may even go back to raising interest rates by more than Lifting steps a quarter of a percentage point each time that officials had intended to adopt.
“If the data as a whole indicated that we should tighten at a faster pace, then we would be ready to increase the pace of interest rate hikes,” he said.