Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told US lawmakers on Thursday that the central bank is “fully aware” of the risks that tightening its monetary policy poses to workers, but he said that lowering interest rates will depend on the development of the economy just as the bank expects inflation to continue to decline.
Powell appeared before the Senate Banking Affairs Committee, whose chairman, Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, pressured him by asking him why the US Central Bank did not quickly lower prices “to spare workers from losing their jobs.”
“We are very aware of that risk, of course, and very conscious of avoiding it,” Powell replied. He added, “If what we expect and what we see, which is the continuation of strong growth and the strength of the labor market… continues to reduce inflation, and if the economy develops on that path, then we believe that the process of abolishing… the restrictive… policy will be able to begin carefully and will begin during this year.” “.
Powell’s appearance in the Senate follows his testimony in the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, in which he reiterated that current progress in reducing inflation is “not guaranteed.”
2024-03-07 18:31:00
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