Powell reaffirmed his message of higher and potentially faster interest rate hikes.
As happened in the session on Tuesday, lawmakers pressed Powell about the impact Fed policy was having on the economy and whether officials were risking recession in the drive to temper price increases.
Asked if he would pause interest rate hikes to avoid a recession, Powell responded "I don't do 'yes or no' on 'will I pause interest rate hikes?' That's a serious question. I can't tell you because I don't know all the facts." Inflation data since then has been worse than expected, and revisions to prior months showed the Fed had made less progress than thought in returning inflation to its 2% target from current levels that are more than double that.
Rate futures markets now expect policymakers to approve a half-percentage-point rate hike at the upcoming meeting.
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