is a critically important responsibility, especially in times of extreme inflation. rising prices for food, housing, and energy negatively impact affordability for all americans, but especially those with low or moderate incomes. for those workers who drive long distances to get to work, high inflation is especially concerning, requiring some to make tradeoffs between feeding their families and buying fuel to fill gas tanks. some workers have seen their wages grow significantly over the past two years, but most have seen any gains in wages far outpaced by higher prices. therefore, in my mind, it is absolutely critical that we continue to use our monetary policy tools until we are successful in returning inflation to our 2 percent goal. businesses are also suffering from elevated inflation through rising and volatile prices for inputs and the need to price their own goods and services to cover costs without losing customers. this dynamic is evident in agriculture and what we are hearing directly from farmers and ranchers, who are dealing with added weather challenges and on - going drought. prices for commodities have declined lately but are still at historically high levels. in contrast, prices for fertilizer and many crop inputs continue to rise. in some areas, high input costs and drought conditions are contributing to record early season cattle auction sales, as many ranchers choose to sell herds early to limit further outlays for input expenses. - 3i see a significant risk of high inflation into next year for necessities including food, housing, fuel, and vehicles. rents have grown dramatically, and while home sales have slowed, the continued increasing price of single - family homes indicates to me that rents won ’ t decline anytime in the near future. recently, gasoline prices have moderated but are still roughly 80 percent higher than pre - pandemic levels due to constrained domestic supply and the disruption of world markets. and i see continued inflation risk from motor vehicle prices, as auto manufacturers struggle with supply chain problems that haven ’ t improved significantly. demand for cars continues to exceed supply, and retail used car prices are still very high, about 50 percent more than before the pandemic. the supply problems pushing up inflation seem likely to persist. indications are that the conflict in ukraine will continue, and that the effects of shipping disruptions of agriculture products and limits on energy supplies from russia will continue to be a significant problem. even with the recent agreement intended to facilitate ukrainian grain exports, it is unclear whether supply pressures on global markets will ease as a result. an announced reduction in russian natural gas

the federal reserve system ( 2011 ), " fomc statement, " press release, august 9 ; board of governors of the federal reserve system ( 2012 ), " federal reserve issues fomc statement, " press release, january 25 ; board of governors of the federal reserve system ( 2012 ), " federal reserve issues fomc statement, " press release, september 13. 9 see board of governors of the federal reserve system ( 2012 ), " federal reserve issues fomc statement, " press release, december 12. 10 this outcome - based forward - guidance language regarding the target range for the federal funds rate was introduced in the september 2020 fomc statement ; see board of governors of the federal reserve system ( 2020 ), " federal reserve issues fomc statement, " press release, september 16. 11 the december 2020 fomc statement included forward guidance regarding asset purchases that specified that the committee would continue its purchases at the same pace until " substantial further progress has been made toward the committee's maximum employment and price stability goals " ; see board of governors of the federal reserve system ( 2020 ), " federal reserve issues fomc statement, " press release, december 16. 7 / 8 bis - central bankers'speeches 12 see board of governors of the federal reserve system ( 2022 ), " federal reserve issues fomc statement, " press release, march 16. 13 see board of governors of the federal reserve system ( 2022 ), " federal reserve issues fomc statement, " press release, september 21. 8 / 8 bis - central bankers'speeches