Powell: Most Fed officials predict two or more rate hikes The Fed paused to assess the impact of past rate hikes. It exists, but not so wide yet to slow down inflation to the Central Bank's target With U.S. inflation well above the Federal Reserve's 2% target and the labor market still very tight, most central bank policymakers expect they will need to raise interest rates at least twice more by the end of the year, he said on Thursday. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. The Fed will hold four more policy meetings this year, with the next one on July 25-26. Rising rates to date have slowed down investment in the business and residential sectors, where activity is well below its peak last year, even though some indicators have recently improved, Powell said. "It will take time" for the rest of the economy to fully feel the effects of the rate hike today, he said. This is especially true for inflation, which, according to the Fed's preferred metric, the Personal Consumption Expenditure Index, is estimated to have risen 3.9% last month from a year earlier, with the core index excluding food and energy prices. is likely up 4.7%, Powell said.