Biden to meet Fed chair as inflation bites pocketbooks
President Joe Biden will meet Tuesday with Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell as soaring inflation takes a bite out of Americans’ pocketbooks
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.President Joe Biden will meet Tuesday with Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell as soaring inflation takes a bite out of Americans' pocketbooks.
The meeting will be the first since Biden renominated Powell to lead the central bank and comes weeks after his confirmation for a second term by the Senate.
The White House said the pair would discuss the state of the U.S. and global economy and especially inflation, described as Biden's “top economic priority." The goal, the White House said, is a “transition from an historic economic recovery to stable, steady growth that works for working families.”
Inflation in the U.S. hit a 40-year high earlier this year, amid supply chain constraints caused by the global economy's recovery from the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
But the economy saw a welcome bit of data Friday, as the Commerce Department said inflation rose 6.3% in April from a year earlier, the first slowdown since November 2020 and a sign that high prices may finally be moderating, at least for now.
The inflation figure was below the four-decade high of 6.6% set in March. While high inflation is still causing hardships for millions of households, any slowing of price increases, if sustained, would provide some modest relief.
Powell has pledged to keep ratcheting up the Fed’s key short-term interest rate to cool the economy until inflation is “coming down in a clear and convincing way.” Those rate hikes have spurred fears that the Fed, in its drive to slow borrowing and spending, may push the economy into a recession. That concern has caused sharp drops in stock prices in the past two months, though markets rallied last week.
Powell has signaled that the Fed will likely raise its benchmark rate by a half-point in both June and July — twice the size of the usual rate increase.