- Advertisement -WASHINGTON– Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said higher U.S. inflation is being driven largely by tariffs on goods rather than excess demand, an assessment that could influence expectations across global, trade-linked economies. “These elevated readings largely reflect inflation in the goods sector, which has been boosted by the effects of tariffs,” Powell said Wednesday, while noting that price pressures in the services sector continue to ease. Powell said the current policy stance remains “appropriate” as inflation continues to run above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target. “Disinflation appears to be continuing in the services sector,” Powell said. Tariffs typically raise prices by increasing import costs, and central banks often treat such increases as temporary if they do not feed into broader inflation expectations.