Those discussions will continue “in coming meetings,” Mr. Powell said. The central bank is also keeping its policy interest rate near zero, which helps borrowing remain cheap for consumers and businesses. “Inflation is not moderately above 2 percent — it’s well above 2 percent,” Mr. Powell said of the current data. “The question will be where does this leave us in six months or so — when inflation, as we expect, does move down — how will the guidance work? “We still don’t think higher inflation will result in a quicker policy tightening,” Andrew Hunter, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics, wrote in response to Mr. Powell’s prepared testimony.

Source: New York Times July 14, 2021 12:31 UTC