U.S. Fed’s Historic 8-4 Split: Jerome Powell Holds Rates At 3.75% In Final Meeting

Added: 2026-04-30

[00:00:00]Estimates based on the consumer price index and other data indicate that total PCE prices rose 3.5% over the 12 months ending in March, boosted by the significant rise in global oil prices that has resulted from the conflict in the Middle East.

[00:00:16]Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core PCE prices rose 3.2% over the 12 months ending in March.

[00:00:24]This relatively high rate largely reflects the effects of tariffs on prices in the goods sector.

[00:00:30]Near-term measures of inflation expectations have risen this year, likely because of the substantial rise in oil prices.

[00:00:37]But these legal actions by the administration are unprecedented in our 113-year history, and there are ongoing threats uh of additional such actions. I I worry that these attacks are battering the institution and putting at risk the thing that really matters to the public, which is the ability to conduct monetary policy without taking into consideration political factors.