Inflation “transitory”, but Fed now projects rate hikes

The Fed continued to stick to its view that the surge in inflation "largely" reflects "transitory factors", but officials revised their inflation projections up significantly for this year and the median projection now shows two 25bp interest rate hikes in 2023. In his press conference, Chair Jerome Powell argued that the Fed was still “a ways off” from achieving the substantial further progress toward its dual mandate goals that would trigger a tapering of its monthly asset purchases.