Prices are still running well above the Fed’s 2% target.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up more than 160 points.Consumer spending – a key measure of overall economic activity – increased slightly less than expected at 0.2%, down from a revised 2% gain the previous month.AFP via Getty Images
“Such a tightening in financial conditions would work in the same direction as rate tightening,” Powell said at his March 22 press conference. “You can think of it as being the equivalent of a rate hike or perhaps more than that.”The Fed will hold its next policy meeting on May 2-3.
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