US Federal Reserve expected to speed up end of pandemic support | Federal Reserve
The US Federal Reserve is expected to accelerate an end to the central bank’s pandemic-era support of the US economy on Wednesday night, in a major shift that could herald a series of interest rate rises next year.
The expected measures are a signal that US central bankers no longer view rising inflation as a “transitory” nuisance caused by supply chain problems meeting pent-up consumer demand, but an issue that now requires firm management to avert lasting damage to the US economy.
At the end of a two-day meeting in Washington, the Fed is anticipated to announce it will reduce its monthly $120bn (£90bn) spending on government bonds designed to lower long-term interest rates at twice the rate that chairman, Jerome Powell, outlined just six weeks ago.
Officials are also expected to forecast that they will raise short-term rates that have been set at near-zero for close to two years. A forecast for a series of rate rises next year…