To: Pogeu Mahone who wrote (182564 ) 1/11/2022 6:02:43 PM From: maceng2 Read Replies (2) | Respond to <<Quitting smoking >> Powell calls inflation a severe threat, disputes White House claims of easing supply-chain woes - Washington Times Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome H. Powell on Tuesday disputed President Biden ’s claim that supply-chain problems have eased, telling Congress that persistent bottlenecks are responsible for record-high inflation that could prompt the central bank to raise interest rates more than planned.Powell told the Senate Banking Committee that high inflation has become a “severe threat” to healthy employment levels. He said stalled shipping and delivery networks are still hurting the economy by contributing to the biggest price increases in consumer goods in four decades.Powell testified. “Look at Long Beach and L.A., the two big ports on the West Coast for Asia, the number of ships at anchor is still at a record level.”Biden boasted before Christmas that “the much-predicted crisis didn’t occur” on the availability of goods for the holidays. White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain recently called the supply-chain crisis “an overhyped narrative.”Powell said of the current inflationary pressures, “I wouldn’t say things have changed much.”Powell , who has broad bipartisan support for another term, said the Fed could raise interest rates even more than currently anticipated this year to address inflation. Central bank officials are forecasting three increases in the benchmark short-term rate this year and say they will also start shrinking the Fed ’s nearly $9 trillion balance sheet.he said. “High inflation is a severe threat to the achievement of maximum employment.”
