Two days under high tension.
Tuesday and Wednesday, the Monetary Policy Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve, the US central bank, meets to decide on a next increase in its key rates.
In March, the bank had already made an impression by raising its rates cautiously by a quarter of a key point, a first in four years.
“
In the short term, the invasion (of Ukraine) and related events are likely to create additional upward pressure on inflation and weigh on economic activity
”, had warned the institution, assuring that further increases will be “
appropriate
”.
To discover
YOUR COMMUNE - The results of the second round of the presidential election in your area
Taxes 2022: all about your tax return
Read also
United States: the White House and the Federal Reserve overwhelmed by the rise in prices
The central bank should put the work back on the job this week, accelerating the movement.
Observers are indeed expecting a rise of half a point this time around, while galloping inflation, reinforced by the stalemate of the war but also the Chinese confinements, has reached records since the 1980s. In March, price increases were close to 7% in the United States, fueling deep discontent among the population and threatening consumption, the main engine of American growth.
In this context, the institution is looking for its peak path: it needs to calm demand down a notch, without stalling the economy, while the American gross domestic product (GDP) has contracted by 1, 4% in the first quarter.
Speaking to a panel of central bankers on the sidelines of International Monetary Fund meetings in early April, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell stressed that it was "
absolutely essential
" to restore price stability and raise
rates
“
quickly ” so that the Fed fulfills this prerogative.
After this week's meeting, Fed members will meet again formally in June, to possibly decide on a further and third rate hike.