Powell to face Capitol Hill hearing at a time of rising uncertainty over Fed’s interest-rate plans

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will begin two days of hearings before Congress on Wednesday that will likely focus on the question that consumed the central bank last week: How far and how fast will the Fed raise its key interest rate from here? The hearings follow a Fed meeting last week that produced a muddled picture of its likely next steps. The members of its policy committee predicted two more rate hikes this year to fight inflation, which they now think will be higher next year than they previously forecast. Despite that dour forecast, the policymakers agreed last week to forgo a rate hike for the first time in 11 meetings.