WASHINGTON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Throughout its two-year battle with inflation, the Federal Reserve has tried to squeeze consumers hard enough through higher interest rates that they stop spending, bring demand in line with supply, and drive U.S. economic growth below its potential to ease price pressures. It hasn't happened yet. With financial markets expecting the U.S. central bank to keep interest rates on hold at the end of a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, policymakers now have to judge whether the economy's stronger-than-anticipated performance is a last gasp of the consumer splurge that began during the COVID-19 pandemic or evidence that monetary policy still isn't strict enough to fully return inflation to the Fed's 2% target.
