In an eight-minute speech delivered at the foothills of Wyoming’s Rocky Mountains in late August, Jay Powell sought to stamp out lingering doubt about the US central bank’s commitment to fighting the worst inflation in decades.
Invoking the legacy of Paul Volcker — his predecessor who vanquished inflation in the 1980s — the sitting chair vowed the Federal Reserve would “keep at it” until it got price pressures under control.
But two months on, what exactly “it” will take is still far from obvious. There remain colossal unknowns about just how quickly inflation will moderate, the extent of the job losses as the central bank cools the economy, and whether the financial system can digest such a rapid surge in borrowing costs.