Inflation slowed to a 6% rate in the year ending in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday, a welcome sign as the Federal Reserve prepares to meet for a monetary policy meeting.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to face questions from lawmakers about inflation, the possibility of recession, and much more this week as he makes required semiannual appearances before Congress.
January’s employment report came as a big surprise for most economists and further adds to the puzzle of whether the Federal Reserve will be able to avoid plunging the economy into a recession.
The economy grew 2.1% in 2022, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday, a year marked first by recession fears and then by the largest burst of inflation in decades, which prompted a frantic campaign by the Federal Reserve to ease price pressures through interest rate hikes.