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All eyes are on Federal Reserve president Ben Bernake after the interest rate hike. The Europeans have done it, and so have the Chinese, but the Federal Reserve doesn't seem ready to join the rate hike race - - at least for now.
It's been a busy period for central banks around the world.
The European Central Bank President lifted interest rates as expected, China's central bank lifted its key lending rate earlier in the week and some Federal Reserve officials are hinting rates may need to go higher in the U.S.
The beef: rising inflation boosted by skyrocketing commodity prices.
Oil prices have risen roughly 25 percent since January when unrest in Egypt fired up and spread to other regions causing fears of energy supply disruptions.
U.S. consumers have been feeling those gains with higher prices at the pump.
But in a speech earlier this week, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke didn't seem convinced those higher prices are here to stay.
The Federal Reserve has a dual mandate: to control prices but also to increase employment.
While the labor picture has been improving in the U.S., unemployment remains stubbornly high at 8.8 percent and wages remain subdued.
[Ji Glassman, Senior Economist, JP Morgan Chase]:
"We've only managed 3% growth - after a very deep plunge into a deep recession. Normally when that kind of thing happens you expect to see very fast growth and we're not getting it because the building business is still dead."
An interest rate hike would lead to higher mortgage rates further hampering the housing recovery.
With the backdrop of those challenges, most experts don't believe there will be a dramatic shift in the Fed's monetary policy anytime soon but inflation will still be closely watched.