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 only weeks after the Senate confirmed him for a second term.
The two will examine the status of the US and global economies, particularly inflation, which is Biden’s top economic goal, according to the White House. The aim, according to the White House, is to go from a record economic recovery to stable, consistent growth that benefits working people.
Early this year, inflation in the United States reached a 40-year high, owing to supply chain restrictions brought on by the global economy’s recovery from the epidemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
However, on Friday, the Commerce Department reported that inflation grew 6.3 percent in April from a year earlier, the first drop since November 2020 and a hint that high prices may finally be reducing, at least for the time being.
The rate of inflation fell from a four-decade high of 6.6 percent in March. While millions of consumers are still suffering from severe inflation, any easing of price hikes, if prolonged, would give some respite.
Powell has promised to maintain raising the Federal Reserve’s benchmark short-term interest rate to calm the economy until inflation is clearly and convincingly reduced. Fears have been raised that the Fed’s efforts to restrict borrowing and spending may force the economy into recession. Stock prices have fallen sharply in the previous 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 typical rate hike.
