CPI Report Live Updates: Inflation Picks Up 2.7% in November
Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, said that the central bank could be “more cautious” as it cuts interest rates at a moment when the economy was growing strongly and price increases had been slightly sticky.
“Growth is definitely stronger than we thought, and inflation is coming a little higher,” Mr. Powell said at The New York Times’s DealBook Summit last week.
Mr. Powell did not comment directly on whether the Fed would cut rates at the central bank’s Dec. 17-18 meeting. But the Fed chair’s comments underscore the complicated moment facing the central bank.
The American economy has been growing at a surprisingly strong pace in recent months, fueled by consumers who are now spending robustly heading into the holiday season. The job market has slowed without grinding to a halt, wage growth remains solid, and productivity has been showing signs of meaningful improvement.
That combination is great news for policymakers and everyday workers alike — it means that America has managed to avert a painful recession that was once seen as all but guaranteed as the Fed lifted interest rates sharply in 2022 and 2023 to wrestle inflation under control.
But the economy’s resilience also makes the Fed’s next steps trickier.
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