The head of the US Federal Reserve says he is leaning towards proposing and supporting an interest rate increase, and that he will bring the matter up at the US Federal Reserve meeting this month.
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Analysts have varied estimates of the rate of interest rate hike
US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in a hearing in the US House of Representatives that he “plans to recommend a 0.25% rate hike at the next meeting this month.”
In response to questions from members of Congress, Powell said, “I am inclined towards proposing and supporting a 25 basis point increase,” and he did not rule out that “future increases will be larger, as the next rate hike will be the first in two years.”
The US Federal Reserve meeting will be held on March 15-16. According to CME Group, 90.5% of analysts expect the rate to rise between 0.25 and 0.5%, and the rest of the analysts expect the rate to rise by between 0.5 and 0.75% annually.
The proportion of those who expect more “tight” measures from the Federal Reserve has decreased significantly, after the events in Ukraine, in light of the uncertainty that has arisen, and the markets are waiting for a more gradual tightening of monetary policy from the regulator.
A few days ago, a key measure of inflation in the United States showed that prices rose during the month of January byIts fastest level in nearly 39 yearsHowever, strong consumer spending has not diminished.
The Commerce Department said Friday that the core PCE price index, the Federal Reserve’s core inflation measure, rose 5.2% from a year ago, slightly above experts’ estimates of 5.1% and also the highest level since 1983.
It is noteworthy that the rate of inflation in the United States in recent months Reached levels not reached in decades.