Fed sees earlier time frame for rate hikes with inflation up

Though the Federal Reserve previously estimated interest rates wouldn’t rise until 2024, officials this week indicated a shift in policy thinking due to rising inflation.

Fed policymakers now forecast they will raise their benchmark short-term rate twice by late 2023, the Associated Press reports. The key rate, which affects many consumer and business loans, including mortgages and credit cards, has been near zero since March 2020 and it has been credited with minimizing a pandemic recession.

Read more from the Associated Press.