Economics
Powell Plays Down Inflation, Nods to Higher-Than-Expected Prices
- Fed chair sees price increases tied to reopening of economy
- Powell also pressed on challenges to hiring in the job market
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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the price increases seen in the economy recently are bigger than expected but reiterated that they will likely wane.
“A pretty substantial part, or perhaps all of the overshoot in inflation comes from categories that are directly affected by the re-opening of the economy such as used cars and trucks,” Powell said Tuesday in response to a question before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. “Those are things that we would look to to stop going up and ultimately to start to decline.”