Washington, June 13 (EFE). – The US Wall Street Journal and other economic media on Monday pointed to the growing possibility that the Federal Reserve will announce a 0.75 point interest rate hike this week in the face of a sharp rise. inflation data.
The New York newspaper cited the latest inflation data, released last week and the highest in forty years, as the main reason that would push the Federal Reserve – the US central bank – to take a stricter policy of monetary containment.
The Fed raised rates for the first time since 2018 last March, when it did so by 0.25 points; Followed by another rise in May, this time by 0.5 points.
Since then, US central bank chiefs have indicated on several occasions that a further half-point hike is on the table, but a 0.75 increase is something that has yet to come into the debate.
However, extremely high inflation, and the fact that it does not appear to be abating in the coming months if the current trend continues, will make the Fed consider tougher measures.
It became known on Friday that US inflation jumped in May to its highest rate in the last 40 years, 8.6%, a new escalation in consumer prices pushed above all by the sharp rise in energy prices.
The monthly increase in consumer prices between March and April was 1%.
A gallon of gasoline (3.78 liters) in the United States hit $5 on Saturday, an all-time high.
A year ago, in June 2021, the average price for a gallon of gasoline (the measure US gas stations use, rather than a liter) was $3.07, about two dollars less than the current.
In 20 of the 50 US states, prices are over $5 a gallon, especially on the country’s West Coast. EFE
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