Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell noted on Wednesday that the surge in United States inflation throughout 2021 was initially considered a "transitory," which led the central bank to hold off on raising interest rates at the time.

Speaking before the House Financial Services Committee, Powell acknowledged that, in retrospect, an earlier tightening of monetary policy would have been preferable but questioned the extent of its impact.

The central bank's chair stressed that the previous policy framework did not constrain the Federal Reserve's ability to respond to a surge in the inflation rate across the United States.