by Luzi Ann Santos | moomoo News
2:44 p.m.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said members of the Federal Open Market Committee get the "broad sense" that the U.S. economy is getting closer to a point when policymakers could start cutting interest rates, though he was clear to stress that "we're not quite at that point yet."
"If we were to see, for example, inflation moving down quickly or more or less in line with expectations, growth remains, let's say, reasonably strong," Powell said at a press conference after the FOMC meeting Wednesday. "And the labor market remains, you know, consistent with its current condition, then I would think that a rate cut could be on the table at September meeting."
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3:07 p.m.
Powell said the timing for an interest rate cut won't be influenced by the timing of the U.S. presidential elections.
Responding to a reporter's question whether a September rate cut would remain an apolitical decision, Powell stressed that no decision has yet been made to start reducing the interest rate that month.
"First of all, we haven't made any decisions," Powell said. "Congress has ordered us to conduct our business in a non-political way at all times."
"We never use our tools to support or oppose the political party, a politician, or any political outcome," he said.
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3 p.m.
Powell cited the difficult challenge in judging the right timing for policymakers to start cutting interest rates.
"We have to worry about that," Powell said. "Just to make it clear, it is a difficult challenge in judgment. We do want to go too soon. We don't want to go too late. But that's -- this is how we've made that judgment. I feel good about where we are."
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2:57 p.m.
Powell said inflation is probably a little farther from its target than employment, as he cited signs of cooling in the labor market.
"I think the downside risk to the employment mandate are real now," Powell said. "As inflation has come down, I think the upside risks to inflation has decreased as the labor market has cooled off. "