America: Inflation May Become "Persistent"

Officials from the U.S. Federal Reserve expressed last month their concerns that high inflation could turn into a long-term condition and emphasized their readiness to continue raising interest rates to mitigate rising prices, according to the minutes of the latest monetary policy meeting published on Wednesday. The minutes from the meeting held on June 14-15 stated that officials are worried "that the inflation-related pressures are showing no signs of retreating," which means that rising prices could be "more ongoing than they previously expected." Several policymakers revealed that there is a "significant risk... that high inflation will become entrenched if the public starts to doubt the committee's resolve," referring to the Federal Open Market Committee that sets Fed policies. However, the report was clear about officials' intention to continue efforts to cool the economy at least until the end of the year. It is noted that Fed officials raised interest rates by 75 basis points in June, the largest increase since 1994, bringing the benchmark interest rates to a target range of 1.5% to 1.75%, in an effort to curb inflation rates that are the hottest in 40 years.