On the 27th, the Federal Reserve announced a 75 basis point increase in interest rates, raising the target range of the federal funds rate to between 2.25% and 2.5%. This is the fourth interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve this year and the second consecutive 75 basis points hike. (on July 27, US Federal Reserve Chairman Powell (later) attended a press conference in Washington. Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie) the Federal Open Market Committee, the decision-making body of the Federal Reserve, issued a statement after the two-day monetary policy meeting on the 27th, saying that the high inflation rate reflects the supply-demand imbalance, rising energy prices and broader price pressure related to the COVID-19; The conflict between Russia and Ukraine and related events have caused additional upward pressure on inflation. The committee is "highly concerned about inflation risks" and will continue to significantly reduce the size of the balance sheet. At the press conference held after the meeting, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said that in the next few months, the Federal Reserve will look for "convincing" evidence of a decline in inflation and continue to raise interest rates. It may be appropriate to carry out another "unusually large interest rate hike" at the September meeting. Powell said in June when the Federal Reserve announced its first 75 basis point interest rate hike in 28 years that a 75 basis point interest rate hike was unusual and was not expected to occur frequently. When asked whether the U.S. economy fell into recession, Powell replied that although the growth rate of the U.S. economy slowed down, the employment market was still strong, and he did not think that the United States had entered a recession. But he also admitted that the path for the Federal Reserve to avoid triggering a recession and achieve a "soft landing" has narrowed, and may become narrower. According to the latest forecast released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta on the 27th, the real GDP of the United States will shrink by 1.2% on an annual basis in the second quarter of this year. According to the US Department of Commerce, the US economy shrank by 1.6% in the first quarter of this year. If the Atlanta Fed's prediction comes true, it means that the U.S. economy is in a technical recession. Desmond Rahman, an economist at the American Enterprise Research Institute, told Xinhua that so far, the tightening of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve has had a significant impact on the financial market. In the first half of the year, the stock and bond markets suffered a sharp decline, and growth in some economic sectors began to slow down. At the same time, due to rising interest rates and declining consumer confidence, housing demand has cooled significantly. According to the data of the U.S. Department of labor, the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) rose by more than 8% year-on-year for three consecutive months from March to May. In June, CPI increased by 9.1% year-on-year, hitting a new high in nearly 41 years. (Xinhua News Agency)