The Federal Reserve kicked off a campaign of interest rate hikes that's set to be the most aggressive since the mid-2000s, as Chair Jerome Powell assured Americans that the fight against inflation won't tip the U.S. economy into recession.

After raising rates by a quarter point for the first time since 2018 and signaling that we will see six more increases this year, Powell told reporters that inflation is too high, the labor market is overheated, and price stability is a "precondition" for the central bank as it tackles the hottest price pressures in 40 years.

"As I looked around the table at today's meeting, I saw a committee that's acutely aware of the need to return the economy to price stability and determined to use our tools to do exactly that," Powell told reporters Wednesday following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). "The American economy is very strong and well-positioned to handle tighter monetary policy."