On November 2, 2022, the Federal Reserve stated that the Fed seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at 2 percent over the long run. To support these goals, the Fed has decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 3-3/4 to 4 percent. The Fed is anticipating that ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate to attain a stance of monetary policy that is sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to 2 percent over time.
According to the Fed, the job gains have been robust in recent months, and the unemployment rate has remained low. Inflation remains elevated, reflecting supply and demand imbalances related to the pandemic, higher food and energy prices, and broader price pressures stated the Fed.
They acknowledge Russia’s war against Ukraine is causing tremendous human and economic hardship. Moreover, upward inflation pressure weighs on global economic activity. The Fed is highly attentive to inflation risks.
Although the Fed is strongly committed to returning inflation to 2 percent, New York businesses worried that the current rate hike will make it difficult to access capital. The rate hike is even more difficult for minority and women-owned businesses holding on by a thread.
