Biden says ‘confident’ Fed to tackle US inflation

WASHINGTON: With US inflation high and the Federal Reserve expected to hike interest rates within months, President Joe Biden said on Friday he had faith in the central bank’s ability to manage price increases while ensuring that businesses keep hiring.

“I want to be clear: I’m confident the Federal Reserve will act to achieve their dual goals of full employment and stable prices and make sure the price increases do not become entrenched over a long term, with the independence that they need,” the president said at the White House.

He spoke following the release of the Labor Department’s December employment report, which showed a disappointing 199,000 jobs added in the final month of the year, but the unemployment rate dipping to 3.9 per cent, not far from where it was before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Fed is undoubtedly paying close attention to the report, as policymakers led by Chair Jerome Powell juggle how to fight the inflation surge that’s pushed consumer prices to multi-decade highs without stifling the labor market’s recovery from its collapse in 2020.

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