Raising rates now would squeeze consumers at a time when the economic recovery is already weakened, some economists said.
"Is this an issue of where you're trying to squeeze consumers into limited data plans?" she said.
During the trial, which began Nov. 1, the Justice Department has argued that Northwest's control of Continental threatens to squeeze consumers, worsen service and stifle competition.
Analysts at Moody's said that in the year ahead, many consumers would be forced to increase their savings to pay off debt, and that the weak credit market would continue to squeeze consumers.
Energy companies have been criticised for price hikes far above inflation that squeeze consumers without any significant indication that any of the additional margin will be invested in green measures.
That is why the Saudis have long acted as the voice of moderation within OPEC, resisting calls from price hawks such as Libya, Iran and, since the rise of Mr Chavez, Venezuela to squeeze consumers.Indeed, at the most recent formal OPEC meeting, held in Iran on March 16th, the Saudis in effect bullied reluctant cartel members into trying to calm prices down.
Metals have been weaker than other commodities, although this divergence is not necessarily good news: higher food and gas prices squeeze consumers' wallets.Most economists think that America will recover strongly in the second quarter, and that the Chinese slowdown will be modest.
The downside of a weaker pound is that the price of imported goods, such as oil, will increase, further squeezing consumer spending.
For a while during the recession, emerging market strength had some negative effects; by driving up commodity prices, they squeezed consumer wallets in the developed world.
There may be some benefit to European growth from a weaker euro, though this will also result in higher import prices, squeezing consumer spending.
