US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell announced that interest rates will remain unchanged at the current rate range of 5.25-5.50%. Here are key takeaways
The US Federal Reserve signaled that it is likely to cut its benchmark lending rate in the coming months. Fed Chair Jerome Powell praised US inflation’s recent progress saying that “the second quarter’s inflation readings have added to our confidence, and more good data would further strengthen that confidence.” The US job market seems to be back to a pre-pandemic normal, he said.
US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks at a news conference.(AFP)
What US Federal Reserve said on interest rates?
US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell announced that interest rates will remain unchanged at the current rate range of 5.25-5.50 per cent and indicated that it believes long-run rates will stay higher than previously indicated. However, Jerome Powell said that determining when to cut rates will be “a very difficult judgement call.”
Inflation is less of an issue, Jerome Powell says
Jerome Powell said, “Inflation has eased notably over the past few years, but remains somewhat elevated from our longer run goal of 2%.” The Fed’s statement described inflation as “somewhat” elevated as the Personal Consumption Expenditures index showed that consumer prices were up 2.5% in June from a year earlier, down from May’s 2.6% annual rate closer to the Fed’s 2% target.
He added, “This is such a welcome outcome for the people we serve. What we’re thinking about all the time is, how do we keep this going? And this is part of that.”
US’ job market is closer to pre-pandemic levels
US’ unemployment rate is now at its highest point in more than two years at 4.1%. Jerome Powell described this slower momentum as an “ongoing gradual normalization” and he noted that the job market is “back to where it was on the eve of the pandemic.”
“I wouldn’t say we don’t want to see any other cooling; it would have to be a material difference: If we see something that looks like a more significant downturn, that would be something that we would have the intention of responding to. I think we’re in a good place here,” he said.
News/Business/ Key takeaways from latest US Federal Reserve meeting: When is rate cut likely?
