The Fed has completely backed itself into a corner.
The truth that no one wants to admit, is that the Fed should have raised rates in 2012. Instead Bernanke “gifted” QE 3 to the Obama admin to help its re-election bid. The Fed finally got around the hiking rates for the first time in seven years at the end of 2015.
Fast-forward to today and the Fed is now facing stag-flation: a situation in which inflation is developing while the economy is weak.