When the Federal Reserve meets next week, Chair Jerome Powell will need to forge a consensus. One group of officials would like to pause their rate increases after 10 straight hikes to allow time to assess whether higher borrowing rates are slowing inflation. But a second group worries that inflation is still too high and thinks the Fed should continue hiking at least once or twice more — beginning next week. So how will Powell achieve an accord between the two? By turning what previously was considered a “pause” into a “skip.” A “pause” might suggest that the Fed won’t necessarily raise its benchmark rate again. A “skip” implies that it probably will — just not now.
