The Fed is struggling to break the back of inflation. Here's why.
CBSN
The Federal Reserve's two-year battle to tame inflation is turning into a drawn-out war, with the central bank grappling with prices that have run surprisingly hot this year. A major reason: stubbornly high housing and rent costs that have sapped household budgets across the U.S.
The Fed will be scrutinizing the latest Consumer Price Index report on Wednesday morning for signs that its campaign to finally extinguish runaway inflation by pushing up interest rates is working. Wall Street expects a slight improvement, with economists forecasting that the CPI in April rose 3.4% from a year ago, a tick lower from March's 3.5% increase, according to financial data company FactSet.
Still, 3.4% remains far higher than the Fed's target of 2% inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday acknowledged that his confidence that inflation is set to ease "is not as high as it was."
