'This is the test': All eyes on US Fed to tackle high inflation
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The U.S. Federal Reserve goes into a key rate-setting meeting this week with markets expecting policymakers to pull the trigger on a rate hike to tackle persistently high inflation — and analysts say central bank chief Kevin Warsh's credibility is on the line.
The world's largest economy has been dealing with years of higher-than-target inflation, and prices have surged in the wake of US President Donald Trump's war on Iran, his signature tariff policies and the ongoing AI boom.The Fed has held rates steady since January, choosing to wait to gauge the effects of energy price shocks and to let the tariffs' effects on prices ripple through the economy.
In recent weeks, however, several Fed policymakers — including Warsh himself — have hinted that if inflation does not show clear signs of slowing, the central bank will have to act by raising interest rates.
