Key question as Federal Reserve meets: Can the central bank pull off a difficult ‘soft landing’?

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Chair Jerome Powell and other Federal Reserve officials gather this week for their latest decision on interest rates, they will do so on the cusp of achieving an elusive “soft landing” — the feat of curbing inflation without causing a deep recession. After the Fed began aggressively raising borrowing costs early last year, most economists predicted it would send the economy crashing. Yet even though the Fed is poised to raise its key rate this week for the 11th time since March 2022, no one is panicking. Economists and financial traders have grown more optimistic that what some call “immaculate disinflation” — a steady easing of inflation pressures without an economic downturn — can be achieved.