WASHINGTON, June 21 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's fight to lower inflation back to its 2% target "has a long way to go," Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday in testimony prepared for delivery to the House Financial Services Committee.
"Inflation has moderated somewhat since the middle of last year," with the Fed's preferred measure of inflation falling substantially from a peak around 7% last year to 4.4% as of April.
Investors broadly expect increases to resume at the Fed's July meeting, though financial market indicators reflect doubts that the Fed will deliver more increases beyond that meeting.
"We have been seeing the effects of our policy tightening on demand in the most interest-rate–sensitive sectors of the economy" such as housing, Powell said.
Stress in the banking sector is also creating "headwinds" for households and businesses, the effect of which remains uncertain, Powell said.
Persons:
Jerome Powell, Powell, Howard Schneider, Andrea Ricci
Organizations:
Financial Services Committee, Fed, Federal, Thomson