The Federal Reserve is "strongly committed" to bringing down inflation that is running at a 40-year high and policymakers are acting "expeditiously to do so" but are not trying to cause a recession in the process, U.S. central bank chief Jerome Powell said on Wednesday.
"It is essential that we bring inflation down if we are to have a sustained period of strong labor market conditions that benefit all," Powell said at a hearing before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, adding that the central bank in coming months will be looking for "compelling evidence" of slowing price pressures before it eases up on the interest rate increases it kicked off three months ago.
While those rate increases have caused financial conditions to tighten "significantly," it is not the Fed's aim to tip the economy into a recession to bring inflation to heel, Powell told lawmakers.
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