Did Powell just blink first in the Fed’s staring contest with inflation?

With rising inflation and the accompanying rising interest rates among the top concerns for S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) investors, we cast our gaze to the latest out of the United States.

Yesterday, overnight Aussie time, US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell may have blinked first in the central bank’s staring contest with inflation.

Addressing the House Financial Services Committee, Powell said that with very low inflation figures last year and plenty of pent up consumer demand, the Fed does expect inflation to tick up.

He calmed the markets by reiterating that, “Our best view is that the effect on inflation will be…