Fed's Powell downplays potential for a rate hike despite higher price pressures
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the central bank is unlikely to raise its key interest rate in response to signs of stubborn inflation and underscored his view that price increases would soon start to cool again
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the central bank is unlikely to raise its key interest rate in response to signs of stubborn inflation and underscored his view that price increases would soon start to cool again.
“I don’t think that it’s likely, based on the data that we have, that the next move that we make would be a rate hike," Powell said. "I think it’s more likely that we’ll be at a place where we hold the policy rate where it is.”
Financial markets and economists have been hoping for signs that one or two Fed rate cuts might be coming this year, given that inflation is down sharply from its high in 2022. But with price pressures still elevated, Powell and other Fed officials have signaled that no rate cut is likely anytime soon.
