US economic soft landing hinges on Fed

Upward move: Powell at a news conference in New York. The Fed chairman and his colleagues appear locked in to raising interest rates by a quarter percentage point this week. — Reuters

WASHINGTON: Rising hopes of a soft landing for the US economy likely hinge on the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) willingness to tolerate inflation markedly higher than it would prefer.

After taking a break from tightening credit last month, Fed chairman Jerome Powell and his colleagues look locked in to raising interest rates by a quarter percentage point this week.