Fed’s Powell; More Rate Hikes Likely This Year

WASHINGTON (AP) — With inflation in the United States still too high, most Federal Reserve officials expect to raise interest rates further this year, Chair Jerome Powell said in prepared testimony to be delivered to a House committee. “Inflation pressures continue to run high, and the process of getting inflation back down to 2% has a long way to go,” Powell said on the first of two days of semi-annual testimony on Capitol Hill. Even so, the Fed last week kept interest rates unchanged after 10 straight hikes so it could take time to gauge how higher borrowing rates have affected the economy, Powell said.