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Janet Yellen (May 18 in Germany)
Photo: SASCHA STEINBACH / EPA
In April 2022, US consumer prices rose by 8.3 percent compared to the same month last year.
In view of this development - and the significant impact on the economy and private households - some forecasts from the recent past have to be put to the test.
The same goes for the US Treasury Secretary.
Because of persistently high inflation in the US, Janet Yellen has acknowledged errors in her earlier assessments.
"I think I was wrong at the time about the course of inflation," Yellen told US broadcaster CNN on Tuesday (local time).
She underestimated the economic shocks caused by factors such as high energy prices and international supply chain problems.
Yellen said in May last year that she did not expect inflation to become a problem.
In the US, the biggest price drivers in March 2022 were fuel, rent and groceries.
Gasoline prices alone rose 18.3 percent month-on-month, accounting for more than half the increase, the new data showed.
Powell is set to lead the Fed for years to come
US President Joe Biden stressed on Tuesday at a meeting with Yellen and Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell that the fight against inflation is one of his top priorities.
He also pledged that he would continue to respect the Fed's independence.
Powell is also concentrating on fighting inflation, just like himself. The central bank is already fighting the high inflation rate with a tighter monetary policy.
The US Senate confirmed Powell for another term as Fed chair by a large majority almost three weeks ago.
The Democrat Biden had already nominated the 69-year-old for four more years in November.
Powell has headed the central bank of the world's largest economy since February 2018. The then President Donald Trump, a Republican, had nominated him.
Powell has been a member of the Federal Reserve Board since 2012.
jok/dpa
