Inflation pressures put Powell in spotlight before Congress

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell last appeared before Congress, in June 2022, inflation had reached a four-decade high of nearly 9% and showed no sign of easing. This week, Powell returns to Capitol Hill for two days of hearings under far different circumstances. The Fed has sharply raised interest rates in the past year to combat accelerating prices, and year-over-year inflation has dropped for seven straight months. Yet if anything, Powell’s task has grown even more complicated. Just a month ago, the economy appeared to be cooling and inflation steadily declining. But a spate of government data has since painted a very different picture. Inflation pressures are easing more gradually and fitfully than economists had assumed.