re: Powell: Fed can maintain higher rates for "as long as needed"

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But higher rates are how you in theory get housing back to a more affordable level. The rates lower demand which then lowers prices

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That only addresses the demand side and assumes stable/adequate supply.

We have a supply side problem as well that needs to be addressed. The catch is, higher rates means higher cost of capital for builders - meaning it's more financially difficult to increase supply. That increase in CoC goes where? In general terms, costs translate to price (companies might eat a little bit of margin, but they have to remain profitable).

The tension between the supply side and demand side is pretty clear. It's a trick bag without a clear way to get out of without something breaking.

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correct me if i am wrong but the SPR is a crude oil reserve and does not contain refined products

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You are correct.
And we are nowhere near a situation where drawing down any of the SPR oil is something we need to be doing.

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politicians can't stomach that

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The last president even brow beat the fed into lowering the rate - in the middle of an expanding economy.

Yep. Good summary of most of the posters over there.

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Got an insurance policy renewal up 60% over last year.
Crap is 100% out of control.

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People cheering on their inflated house prices and complaining when insurance has to cover those higher prices.

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1. Recent data "shows lack of further progress on inflation"

2. Inflation has "introduced new uncertainty" on whether the Fed can cut rates later this year

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WAIT A SECOND! One of the greatest financial minds our country has to offer told us this three years ago!

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June 22, 2021

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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday responded to concerns from Republican lawmakers about spiking inflation by reiterating his view that current price increases will likely prove temporary.

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Most of the price gains have occurred in categories such as used cars, airplane tickets, and hotel rooms, Powell said, where demand has soared as the economy has quickly reopened, catching many companies flat-footed.

“Those are things that we would look to, to stop going up and ultimately to start to decline as these situations resolve themselves,” Powell said. “They don’t speak to a broadly tight economy — the kind of thing that has led to high inflation over time.”

Powell acknowledged that “these effects have been larger than we expected and they may turn out to be more persistent than we expected.” But he added that “the incoming data are very much consistent with the view that these are factors that will wane over time and then inflation will then move down toward our goals.”

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Yet other officials echoed Powell’s views. Also on Monday, New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams, who also serves as vice chair of the Fed’s policymaking committee, said that currently high inflation is likely transitory.

“I expect that as price reversals and short-run imbalances from the economy reopening play out, inflation will come down from around 3% this year to close to 2% next year and in 2023,” Williams said.

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HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?! I full on LOLd at the last one.

The people in charge of our entire economy and money supply were so far off that it's scary. What makes it worse is that Average Joe Consumer basically knew that was BS from the start.

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They need to raise the rate, not just maintain it, if they want inflation to come down.

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Bingo, if we want the cost of goods and services prices to come down, then we need raise rates and constrict monetary policy. Now is not the time to be making big ticket purchases. Best to wait for the Carter economy to and and for a new Regan economy to begin.

Odd amount of indirect bids today. I was told the Fed was printing money for the Treasury.

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That only addresses the demand side and assumes stable/adequate supply. We have a supply side problem as well that needs to be addressed. The catch is, higher rates means higher cost of capital for builders - meaning it's more financially difficult to increase supply. That increase in CoC goes where? In general terms, costs translate to price (companies might eat a little bit of margin, but they have to remain profitable). The tension between the supply side and demand side is pretty clear. It's a trick bag without a clear way to get out of without something breaking.

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Agreed thus the rest of my post about how it's in theory only and there are many complicating factors currently

Planned economies don't work.