Powell tells Congress that Fed will raise rates this month

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is sending his clearest signal to date that the Fed will begin raising rates this month in a high-stakes effort to restrain surging inflation. In prepared testimony he will deliver to a congressional committee Wednesday (March 2, 2022), Powell cautions that the financial consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are “highly uncertain.” He says the Fed will “need to be nimble” in responding to unexpected changes resulting from the war or the sanctions that the United States and Europe have imposed in response.  The Fed is widely expected to raise rates several times this year beginning at its March 15-16, 2022, meeting.