A key issue facing the officials: Has the lodestar they use to guide their actions increased and, if so, should they push rates markedly higher in response — risking more financial turmoil in the process.
The Federal Reserve is flying blind as it tries to bring down inflation without breaking the financial system or crashing the US into a recession.
Ahead of a crucial meeting later this month, policymakers are wrestling with an economy that’s proven surprisingly resilient to their rapid-fire interest-rate increases and an investor class that’s grown jittery about the health of the financial system after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
