Powell expects a quarter-point Fed rate hike this month

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chair Jerome Powell said he supports a traditional quarter-point increase in the Federal Reserve’s benchmark short-term interest rate when the Fed meets later this month, rather than a larger increase that some of its policymakers have proposed. But Powell did open the door to a bigger hike in the event that inflation, which has reached a four-decade high, doesn’t noticeably decline this year, as the Fed expects it to. Higher Fed rates typically lead, in turn, to higher rates for consumers and businesses, including for homes and auto loans and credit cards.