WASHINGTON— Federal Reserve leaders pledged the central bank would continue an aggressive fight to cool an inflation rate that’s at a four-decade high, even if higher rates cause the risk of recession.
Fed Bank St. Louis President James Bullard said he favors a strategy of “front-loading” big interest-rate hikes, and he wants to end the year at 3.75% to 4%, while his Richmond and Minneapolis counterparts — Thomas Barkin and Neel Kashkari — said the central bank was committed to lowering inflation and a recession could happen.
San Francisco’s Mary Daly maintained that the central bank can counter inflation without triggering mass unemployment and an economic downturn.
