Fed's balancing act could see June rate cut in play even with sticky inflation

Jerome Powell, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, speaks during a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in Washington, DC, US. - Photographer: Samuel Corum/Bloomberg

WASHINGTON: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says the central bank is not growing more tolerant of higher inflation even though the latest policymaker projections raised the inflation outlook for the year without triggering a tougher monetary-policy response.

But former Fed officials and other analysts see Powell nevertheless approaching a difficult moment trying to reconcile competing economic risks, a divided group of Fed policymakers, and a public now expecting interest rate cuts to start in June.