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© . FILE PHOTO: John Williams, chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, speaks at an event in New York, US, Nov. 6, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo
By Jonnelle Marte () – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine adds uncertainty to the US economic outlook and could boost inflation in the near term, but family savings and strong economic growth should help mitigate the damage, said John Williams, president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, Thursday. † Higher oil prices from the crisis could act as a “tax” for US consumers that curtails spending, but the savings accumulated during the pandemic could help offset the higher costs, Williams said. “The economy is moving forward with a lot of momentum in this,” Williams said at a virtual event hosted by the Council for Economic Education. “It is certainly not a problem of stagflation.” Fed officials say they plan to raise interest rates when they meet on March 15-16, an important step in their efforts to fight inflation at its 40-year high. Williams said he expects inflation to fall later this year but remain “well above” the central bank’s 2% target. Inflation should decrease as the Fed raises interest rates, fiscal policy fades and supply shortages are resolved. But he emphasized the Fed’s ability to react if inflation remains higher than expected at the end of this year and beyond. “We have the opportunity to adjust interest rates higher if inflation becomes much more persistent or remains much higher than we expect or want,” Williams said. Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data on this website is not necessarily real-time or accurate. All CFDs (Stocks, Indices, Futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and therefore prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price meaning prices are indicative and not suitable for trading purposes . Therefore, Fusion Media does not bear any responsibility for any trading losses that you may incur as a result of using this data. Fusion Media or anyone associated with Fusion Media accepts no liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any information, including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals on this website. Be fully informed about the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest forms of investment possible.