In the Federal Reserve's semiannual report to Congress, Chair Jerome Powell's advanced published comments reinforced the between-the-lines takes that many had after June's meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee. That is, don't expect the most recent rate hike pause to continue.

"My colleagues and I understand the hardship that high inflation is causing, and we remain strongly committed to bringing inflation back down to our 2 percent goal," Powell planned to say in the opening of his remarks. "Price stability is the responsibility of the Federal Reserve, and without it, the economy does not work for anyone."

That's the soft-handed way of saying that inflation must retreat to the 2% level that the Fed —other central banks as well — says is the desired level. That is the door that can, and likely will, open to additional interest rate hikes as well as continued quantitative tightening to reduce the amount of liquidity in markets.