Biden supported the Fed in tightening monetary policy to contain inflation

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- US President Joe Biden said on the 19th that he supports the US Federal Reserve in tightening monetary policy to control inflation.

Biden said at a press conference at the White House on the same day that the new crown epidemic has triggered a rapid rise in prices around the world. The Fed has a dual mission to achieve full employment and maintain price stability, and the key responsibility for ensuring that inflation does not become entrenched lies with the Fed.

Biden said that over the past year and a half, the Fed has provided extremely loose monetary policy support in response to the epidemic. Given the trajectory of the U.S. economy and recent price increases, as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has hinted, a realignment of policy support is necessary. He respects fed independence.

Biden said the best way to address high prices is to increase the productivity of the U.S. economy and enhance its ability to provide goods and services to the American people. To that end, he proposed a three-part plan to boost U.S. economic growth and ensure controllable inflation, including addressing supply chain bottlenecks, pushing Congress to approve a spending package aimed at reducing the cost of living for households, and promoting industry competition to avoid some big companies monopolizing the market.

Biden also pointed out that the US economic recovery and epidemic response still face major challenges, and he understands that the American people have repeatedly felt "frustrated and tired" by the epidemic.

Affected by the recent severe rebound of the epidemic and the continuous rise in inflationary pressures, US consumer confidence has fallen, and a number of polls have shown that the support of the US people for Biden has also fallen sharply.

Speaking at a U.S. congressional hearing last week, Powell said the Fed could raise interest rates more times and shrink its balance sheet earlier and faster to deal with persistently high inflation. The U.S. Consumer Price Index rose 7 percent year-over-year in December, the biggest year-over-year increase in nearly 40 years, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.