Fed's Powell sees no replay of 1970s-style inflation

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that he had no reason to believe that the U.S. was experiencing 1970s-style high inflation that prompted the Fed to sharply raise rates and induce a deep recession to defeat it.

Powell told a news conference after the Fed held rates steady that the underlying inflation had already subsided to the 2% range with low unemployment, even though some inflation may be coming from an "exogenous source," a reference to higher U.S. tariffs. But the situation was not remotely comparable to the high inflation of the 1970s, he said, adding: "I don't see any reason to think that we're looking at a replay of the 70s or anything like that."