WASHINGTON (AP) — As surging inflation bites into Americans’ wallets, President Joe Biden will meet with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday.
The meeting will be the first since Biden renominated Powell to chair the Federal Reserve, and it will take place just weeks after the Senate confirmed Powell for a second term.
The two will talk about the status of the US and global economies, particularly inflation, which is Biden’s “top economic issue,” according to the White House. The White House stated that the goal is to “transition from a historic economic recovery to sustained, steady growth that benefits working people.”
Inflation in the United States reached a 40-year high earlier this year, owing to supply chain restrictions resulting from the global economy’s recovery from the epidemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
However, on Friday, the Commerce Department reported that inflation jumped 6.3 percent in April from a year ago, the first drop since November 2020 and a sign that high prices may finally be reducing, at least for the time being.
Inflation fell from a four-decade high of 6.6 percent in March. While millions of consumers continue to suffer from excessive inflation, any easing of price hikes, if prolonged, would give some respite.
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Powell has promised to maintain raising the Fed’s benchmark short-term interest rate in order to calm the economy until inflation “comes down in a clear and persuasive manner.” Fears have grown that the Fed’s efforts to restrict borrowing and spending may force the economy into a recession. Stock prices have dropped sharply in the last two months as a result of this fear, albeit markets recovered this week.
Powell has indicated that the Fed will likely raise its benchmark rate by a half-point in both June and July, which would be twice as large as the average increase.