Pervasive inflation, a hot job market and a resilient consumer have put the option of a half-percentage-point interest rate hike on the table when the Federal Reserve meets at the end of March.
In separate interviews and speeches this week, two central bank policymakers indicated they are open to supporting a larger, 50-basis-point increase next month amid growing evidence that underlying inflationary pressures in the U.S. economy remain strong.
“At this juncture, the incoming data have not changed my view that we will need to bring the fed funds rate above 5% and hold it there for some time,” Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said Thursday in remarks prepared for an event organized by the Global Interdependence Center and the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee.
Read more here: https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/sticky-inflation-opens-door-steeper-fed-rate-hike-march
