Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell participates in a fireside chat with Spelman College President.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday kept the possibility of another interest-rate hike in play this year, despite cooling inflation.
“It would be premature to infer with confidence that we have achieved a sufficiently restrictive stance, or to speculate on when policy might ease,” Powell said in remarks prepared for delivery at Spelman College in Atlanta. “We are prepared to tighten policy advance if it becomes appropriate to do so.”
Powell’s comments come shortly after the Fed voted to hold interest rates steady at a range of 5.25% to 5.5%, the highest level in 22 years. Officials are now trying to figure out whether they have tightened monetary policy enough, or whether they need to raise rates higher in order to crush still-high inflation.
While inflation has cooled considerably in recent months, it remains up 3.2% compared with the same time a year ago, according to the most recent Labor Department data.
FED’S FIGHT AGAINST INFLATION IS WEIGHING ON MIDDLE-CLASS AMERICANS
Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, speaks during a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington, D.C., on March 22, 2023. (Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Policymakers have raised interest rates sharply over the past year, approving 11 rate increases in the hopes of crushing inflation and cooling the economy. In the span of just 16 months, interest rates surged from near zero to above 5%, the fastest pace of tightening since the 1980s.
The Fed is scheduled to confront just one more time this year, on Dec. 12-13. Investors widely agree the central bank will hold rates steady, despite the somewhat hawkish overtures by Powell on Friday, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, which tracks trading.
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This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
