US Fed Says "Growth Clouded by Ukraine War and Inflation" in Beige Book

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] The U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve (Fed), expressed concerns on the 20th (local time) that the war between Russia and Ukraine and inflation are casting a shadow over economic growth prospects.

In the Beige Book, a report on economic conditions released that day, the Fed stated, "Recent geopolitical developments and uncertainty caused by soaring prices are casting a shadow over future growth prospects."

The Beige Book, which serves as basic data for the May Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) regular meeting, was released amid speculation that the Fed may take a big step by raising the benchmark interest rate by 0.5 percentage points at once to curb U.S. inflation, which is at its highest level in 40 years.

The Beige Book assessed that the U.S. economy grew at a "normal pace" during the survey period from the end of February to April 11.

Regarding inflation in particular, it expressed concern that "inflationary pressures remain strong even after the previous report was released," and that "companies are quickly passing on rising costs to customers." It also included content confirming labor shortages and wage increases in addition to the rise in sales prices due to increased production costs.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.