US central bank governor Jerome Powell has described price stability as the economy’s “building block”, saying the Federal Reserve’s battle to rein in inflation “will suffer a little” as the impact of higher rates is felt. It could be if prices continue to accelerate.

“We fully understand and know how painful inflation is,” Powell told the Marketplace radio show. Said. He reiterated his expectation that the Fed will raise interest rates by 0.50 percentage points at each of its next two meetings, but promised “we’re prepared to do more” if the data turns in the wrong direction.

“Nothing works in the economy, the economy doesn’t work for anyone without price stability,” said Powell. “We’ve gone through periods in our history where inflation was pretty high… The process of bringing inflation down to 2 percent will also be a bit of a pain, but ultimately the most painful thing would be if we didn’t deal with it. That and inflation is rooted in the economy at high levels, and we know what it’s like. And that’s it. it’s just that people’s wages depreciate.”

Interest rates are rising sharply as a result of monetary policy measures designed by Powell.

While neither inflation nor borrowing costs came close to the levels of former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker’s era in the 1970s and 1980s, the rapid rise in food, gas, housing and other daily essentials made it a politically explosive issue for the US administration. President Joe Biden. In April, consumer prices increased by 8.3% compared to a year ago.

“Fighting inflation is my top priority in my country,” Biden said after Powell was confirmed Thursday as a second four-year central bank governor. “It will bring the skills and knowledge needed at this critical time to our economy and families across the country,” the Fed said.