US Fed's Jerome Powell signals for rate hikes over the course of the year to tackle inflationary pressure

12 Jan 2022 , 11:05 AM

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday said that with a seemingly clear path to a second term heading the central bank, declared Tuesday that the U.S. economy is both healthy enough and in need of tighter monetary policy.

“We’re going to end our asset purchases in March, meaning we’ll be raising rates over the course of the year,” Powell said at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee.

As always, challenges remain. Both the initial shutdown and the subsequent reopening of the economy were without precedent. The economy has rapidly gained strength despite the ongoing pandemic, giving rise to persistent supply and demand imbalances and bottlenecks, and thus to elevated inflation. We know that high inflation exacts a toll, particularly for those less able to meet the higher costs of essentials like food, housing, and transportation. We are strongly committed to achieving our statutory goals of maximum employment and price stability. We will use our tools to support the economy and a strong labor market and to prevent higher inflation from becoming entrenched, he added.

“The economy is in a completely different place than it was when we ended asset purchases the last time, so the period of time between stopping purchases and beginning runoff will be shorter, and also the balance sheet is much bigger so the runoff can be faster,” he said.

We can begin to see that the post-pandemic economy is likely to be different in some respects. The pursuit of our goals will need to take these differences into account. To that end, monetary policy must take a broad and forward-looking view, keeping pace with an ever-evolving economy.

Over the past four years, my colleagues and I have continued the work of our predecessors to ensure a strong and resilient financial system. We increased capital and liquidity requirements for the largest banks–and currently, capital and liquidity levels at our largest, most systemically important banks are at multidecade highs. We worked to improve the public’s access to instant payments, intensified our focus and supervisory efforts on evolving threats such as climate change and cyberattacks, and expanded our analysis and monitoring of financial stability. We will remain vigilant about new and emerging threats.

We also updated our monetary policy framework, drawing on insights from people and communities across the country, to reflect the challenges of conducting policy in an era of persistently low interest rates.

Congress has assigned the Federal Reserve important goals and has given us considerable independence in using our tools to achieve them. In our democratic system, that independence comes with the responsibility of transparency and clear communication, to keep the public informed and enable effective legislative oversight. That duty takes on even greater significance when the Fed must take extraordinary actions in times of crisis. In order to facilitate that transparency, and to earn your trust and that of the American people, I have made it a priority to meet regularly and frequently with you and your elected colleagues. I commit to continuing that practice if I am confirmed to another term, Chair Jerome H. Powell said.