Rates to Remain Higher for Longer If the Fed proceeds with this anticipated increase, it will mark the twelfth hike since the commencement of policy tightening in March 2022. The expected inflation rate, as measured by the core personal consumption expenditures price index, decreased to 3.7%, down by 0.2 percentage points from June. While there are signs that the Fed's approach may achieve its goal of taming inflation without causing a severe economic downturn, the road ahead is a bit unclear.