Fed Chair: It's time to adjust monetary policy
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said it's time to cut the key interest rate, confirming expectations that officials will start cutting borrowing costs next month and making clear their determination to prevent a further slowdown in the labor market. According to the text of his speech at the annual Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City conference, held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell said: "The time has come to adjust monetary policy. The direction is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on the data that are available, the evolution of expectations, and the balance of risks."
Powell also pointed to recent progress in combating inflation, which has resumed its slowdown in recent months after pausing earlier this year, saying: "I have become more confident that inflation is on a steady path toward the 2% goal," referring to the central bank's inflation target.
While these remarks brought some clarity to the situation in financial markets in the near term, they did not provide much indication of how the Fed will move after its September meeting.
