PANews reported on March 30 that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated there is a tension between the Fed's two main objectives. Overall, research tends to suggest that purchasing long-term assets will lower interest rates and support the economy. There is no indication that the Fed's past bond purchases have been inflationary in nature. We do not really see the downside risks from the massive balance sheet that many have predicted. The Committee will achieve its 2% inflation target. Tariff-induced inflation is a one-off price increase that will raise the inflation rate by 0.5 to 1 percentage point.
