Fed chair admits rate hikes 'unpopular'

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell admitted Tuesday that the central bank's interest rate hikes have been "unpopular" in an attempt to lower record inflation.

"Restoring price stability when inflation is high can require measures that are not popular in the short term as we raise interest rates to slow the economy," Powell said during a speech at the Symposium on Central Bank Independence in Stockholm.

In one of its most aggressive monetary tightening cycles in history, the Fed raised its benchmark interest rate seven times last year by a total of 425 points to tame inflation, which climbed last summer to its highest in more than four decades.

The cycle carried the Fed's target range for the federal funds rate to between 4.25% and 4.5% -- its highest in 15 years. The central bank is expected to make an additional rate hike of 25 basis points after its two-day meeting Feb. 1.

"Price stability is the bedrock of a healthy economy and provides the public with immeasurable benefits over time," said Powell.