Fed set to impose another big rate hike to fight inflation
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is under pressure to continue raising interest rates aggressively with inflation at a four-decade high, the job market strong and consumers still spending.
When it ends its latest policy meeting Wednesday afternoon, the Fed is expected to impose a second consecutive three-quarter-point hike in its benchmark interest rate. It will be the Fed’s fourth rate hike since March. Since then, with inflation setting new four-decade highs, the central bank has tightened credit ever more aggressively.
A news conference that Chair Jerome Powell will hold Wednesday — and whatever signals, if any, he sends about the Fed’s next steps — will draw intense interest.
