华盛顿-总统乔·拜登将于周二会见美联储董事长杰罗姆·鲍威尔,因为飙升的通货膨胀正在吞噬美国人的钱包。
这将是拜登再次提名鲍威尔领导中央银行以来的第一次会议,也是在参议院确认他连任几周后举行的。
白宫表示,两人将讨论美国和全球经济的状况,特别是通货膨胀,这被称为拜登的“首要经济任务”白宫表示,目标是“从历史性的经济复苏过渡到稳定、稳定的增长,为工薪家庭服务。”
今年早些时候,美国的通胀率达到40年来的最高水平,原因是全球经济从疫情复苏和俄罗斯入侵乌克兰导致供应链受到限制。
但美国经济周五出现了一个可喜的数据,美国商务部(Commerce Department)表示,4月份通胀较上年同期上升6.3%,这是自2020年11月以来的首次放缓,也是高价格可能最终放缓的迹象,至少目前是如此。
通胀率低于3月份创下的6.6%的40年高点。尽管高通胀仍在给数百万家庭带来困难,但价格上涨速度的任何放缓,如果持续下去,都将在一定程度上缓解压力。
鲍威尔承诺将继续提高美联储的关键短期利率,以冷却经济,直到通胀“以明确和令人信服的方式下降”。这些加息引发了人们的担忧,担心美联储在放缓借贷和支出的过程中,可能会将经济推入衰退。这种担忧导致股价在过去两个月大幅下跌,尽管上周市场有所反弹。
鲍威尔表示,美联储可能会在6月和7月将基准利率上调0.5个百分点,是通常加息幅度的两倍。
Biden to meet Fed chair as inflation bites pocketbooks
WASHINGTON --PresidentJoe Bidenwill 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.