Fed Aims for ‘Modestly Restrictive’ Policy to Counter Inflation

A s was widely expected, the Federal Reserve raised its policy rate by 75 basis points (bps) at the July meeting, taking the target rate range to 2.25%–2.5%. This is just below the Fed’s estimate for a neutral policy stance in the longer run (2.5%). At the press conference, Chair Jerome Powell said that “modestly restrictive” monetary policy is warranted by the current economic fundamentals, including elevated inflation, and mentioned that another outsize rate hike may be necessary at the next meeting in September in order to ensure monetary policy is restrictive.