Fed lays out historic shift to inflation strategy

The Federal Reserve said Thursday that, going forward, it is willing to allow inflation to drift higher than its typical 2% target for periods of time — and won't be tempted to hike rates to offset rising prices when the unemployment rate gets too low.

Why it matters: It's a historic shift in the Fed's strategy. For decades, the central bank operated with the thinking that low unemployment rates lead to inflation. That never panned out during the record-long economic expansion that ended when the pandemic hit, as inflation has remained persistently below its target since the financial crisis .