Powell makes case for Fed curbing inflation

Tricky move: People pass a 30% off sign on display in a store in Miami Beach, Florida. The Fed is on course to begin raising interest rates from near zero and reducing its mammoth US$8.8 trillion (RM36.81 trillion) balance sheet. — AFP

NEW YORK: Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Jerome Powell sought to reassure lawmakers and investors that the central bank can pull off the tricky task of bringing down four-decade high inflation without damaging the US economy.

In a 2½ hour congressional confirmation hearing that was notably free of rancor, Powell said the Fed was on course to begin raising interest rates from near zero and reducing its mammoth US$8.8 trillion (RM36.81 trillion) balance sheet.