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Why the Fed Targets 2% Inflation, Not 0%

Macro and the Federal Reserve • Beginner Investing • 6 min

Zero inflation sounds like the obviously ideal target — stable prices, no erosion of purchasing power — but the Fed deliberately aims for 2%, not 0%, and formally made this explicit for the first time in January 2012 under Fed Chair Ben Bernanke, the first time in Fed history the target was stated as a specific numerical goal rather than left informally understood. The reasoning behind the specific number involves a…

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