US President Joe Biden received the head of the US Federal Reserve (the Fed), Jerome Powell, for a rare interview on Tuesday against a backdrop of galloping inflation, but he promised to preserve the independence of the central bank. American.
The 79-year-old Democrat received him in the Oval Office with his Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, to discuss with them his “biggest priority: responding to inflation to successfully transition from a recovery to sustained and sustainable growth.
The meeting is unusual, as the Biden government has generally stayed away from this independent institution. However, the president assured, in a short statement to the press, that his “plan” aimed at regulating prices “began with a simple premise: respect the Fed, respect the independence of the Fed”. He also felt that the members of the central bank were “totally focused” on price regulation, which is, along with supporting employment, their mission.
Jerome Powell did not speak to reporters, meanwhile.
In a column published Monday in the wall street journal, the American president had already made a point of standing out from his “predecessor” Donald Trump, whom he accused of having “lowered” the Fed. The former Republican president attacked several times during his mandate at the Fed in general and Jerome Powell in particular, he who was nevertheless his candidate to lead the central bank (and whom Joe Biden chose to keep in job).
inflationary fire
Inflation is godsend for the Republican opposition, a few months before legislative elections which risk costing the Democrats their very slim parliamentary majority. “No matter what Biden and the Democrats say, the economy is constantly declining under their watch, while families struggle to buy anything, from gasoline to food,” the President of the Republic said on Tuesday. Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel.
According to a poll conducted between April 25 and 1er May by Pew Research, 70% of Americans rate inflation as a very important issue, a far greater proportion than their other concerns (cost of health care, crime and gun violence) . The investigation, however, was conducted before a school shooting in Texas reignited the gun debate in the United States.
The Fed assured that it would do everything to bring inflation back into line. It has started to raise its key interest rates vigorously, and should continue this process.
In the United States, economists expect the booming US economy, which Joe Biden brags about at every opportunity, to slow significantly by the end of the year. Experts are also closely monitoring the behavior of American households. The latter are now drawing on their savings to be able to continue to consume, which is supporting the world’s largest economy, at least so far.