纽约时报 美联储加速缩减购债规模应对高通胀(2)（在线收听）

Still, inflation has been higher and broader and has lasted longer than policymakers had anticipated.

尽管如此，通胀一直高于政策制定者的预期，范围更广，持续时间也更长。

Consumer prices climbed 6.8 percent in November from a year earlier, the quickest pace of increase since 1982.

11月消费者价格指数同比上涨6.8%，这是1982年以来最快的增长速度。

The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge has shown slightly slower gains but has also moved up sharply.

美联储首选的通胀指标的涨幅略有放缓，但也在大幅上升。

Some economists have warned that the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus could allow elevated inflation to linger if it further disrupts supply chains and causes factories to shut down for periods of time.

一些经济学家警告称，如果新型冠状病毒奥密克戎变体进一步扰乱供应链，导致工厂停产一段时间，那么它可能会让高通胀持续下去。

Mr. Powell on Wednesday acknowledged that the spreading virus was a risk that contributed to economic uncertainty.

鲍威尔周三承认，病毒的传播是造成经济不确定性的一个风险。

“The rise in Covid cases in recent weeks, along with the emergence of the Omicron variant, pose risks to the outlook,” he said.

他说:“最近几周，新冠肺炎病例的增加，以及毒奥密克戎变体的出现，给前景带来了风险。”

The Fed chair said that a quicker conclusion to bond buying — which officials first announced they would slow following their November meeting — would put policymakers in a position to react to a range of possible economic outcomes next year.

这位美联储主席表示，更快结束债券购买-官员们在11月会议后首次宣布将放缓债券购买-将使政策制定者能够对明年可能出现的一系列经济结果做出反应。

And asked if there would be a big gap between when bond buying ended and when rate increases began, as there was during the last economic rebound, Mr. Powell said the situation was different this time.

当被问及在结束购买债券和开始加息之间是否会出现像上次经济反弹时那样的巨大差距时，鲍威尔说，这次的情况不同。

“The economy is so much stronger now,” Mr. Powell said, later adding that “there wouldn’t be the need for that kind of long delay.”

鲍威尔说，“现在的经济要强劲得多。”他后来又说，“没有必要拖那么长时间。”

Mr. Powell’s public shift to sounding more concerned about inflation came shortly after President Biden announced on Nov. 22 that he would appoint him to a second term as chair, saying he believed Mr. Powell would focus on both the need to control inflation and fostering a strong economy that creates jobs and pushes wages higher.

11月22日，拜登总统宣布将任命鲍威尔连任美联储主席一职，称他相信鲍威尔将专注于既要控制通胀，又要培育一个能创造就业机会、推高工资的强劲经济，之后不久，鲍威尔就公开表示对通胀的担忧。

That timing fueled speculation about whether Mr. Powell turned toward fighting inflation and putting less primacy on keeping borrowing cheap once he had secured reappointment — or that his reappointment gave him a new mandate to act more boldly, knowing he would be around to carry out the plan.

这个时机引发了人们的猜测:鲍威尔在获得连任后，是否会转而对抗通货膨胀，不再把保持低利率作为首要任务，还是他的连任赋予了他新的授权，让他更加大胆地采取行动，因为他知道将会掉头执行这个计划。

But Mr. Powell batted back that idea on Wednesday, providing a detailed look at his own evolution in thinking about inflation and the data that convinced him the Fed needed to speed up its plans.

但鲍威尔周三反驳了这一观点，详细介绍了他自己在思考通胀方面的演变，以及那些让他确信美联储需要加快计划的数据。

“It had nothing to do with it at all,” he said of the reappointment, noting that other Fed officials were already setting up the change in policy before Mr. Biden’s decision was announced.

“与此完全无关，”他在谈到连任时说，并指出，在拜登的决定宣布之前，其他美联储官员已经在着手调整政策。

“My colleagues were out there talking about a faster taper, and that doesn’t happen by accident.”

“我的同事们正在讨论加快缩减资产购买，这不是偶然发生的。”