Why America can’t escape inflation worries
The Federal Reserve sticks to its plans, despite an uncertain situation
![Jerome Powell announces that interest rates will not change during a press conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC, March 20th 2024](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240323_FNP504.jpg)
Some hikers believe that the last mile is the hardest: all the blisters and accumulated aches slow progress at the very end. Others swear that it is the easiest because the finishing line is in sight. For the Federal Reserve, the last mile of its trek to bring inflation back to its 2% target has been simultaneously easy and hard. Easy in the sense that the central bank has not budged on interest rates for eight months, instead letting its previous tightening do the work. Hard because the wait for inflation to recede has felt rather long.
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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “The last mile”
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