EARLIER this year, US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell was keen to tell the world that the threat of inflation was gone and that the central bank was reopening the US for business by pivoting to easy-money policies.

At the Fed’s meeting in March, he again signalled that inflation had been dealt with during his 18 month rate-hike voyage.

He promised the markets that the Fed would cut rates more than once in 2024, barring what he saw as the extremely unlikely event of more inflation sightings on the horizon.