Economics
Powell Signals Prolonged Fed Pause as Inflation Lags, Risks Loom
- Central bank to taper balance-sheet runoff starting in May
- Traders lifted the odds of the Fed cutting interest rates
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Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said interest rates could be on hold for “some time” as global risks weigh on the economic outlook and inflation remains muted.
“We don’t see data coming in that suggest that we should move in either direction. They suggest that we should remain patient and let the situation clarify itself over time,” he told a press conference Wednesday after officials slashed their projected interest-rate increases this year to zero from two. “It may be some time before the outlook for jobs and inflation calls clearly for a change in policy.”