Imperilled US focuses on inflation and economy
Rates are being raised by the central bank to reduce inflation, which is close to a 40-year high. However, the increased rates run the risk of sending the economy into a downturn. Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated at a news conference that the Fed could pause the rate of hikes as early as next month. According to Powell, "that day is coming and it may occur as soon as the next meeting or the one after that."
But he noted that the Fed is still far from stopping its rate hike programme and that rates need to rise quite a bit more before they are "sufficiently restrictive" enough to bring inflation down to the Fed's target of 2%. He stated that the Fed needs to act swiftly to prevent inflation from being "entrenched" in people's expectations as well as those of businesses.
America is preoccupied with the high unemployment rate, rising inflation, and slow economic progress. In spite of the fact that the US economy grew by 2.6% in the most recent quarter, a CNN POLL revealed that up to 75% of respondents still feel the US is in a recession. Credit card rates are at an all-time high of 18.7%% due to the ongoing increases in interest rates to battle rising inflation, while mortgage rates are at an all-time high of 7%.