Powell leads the Jackson Hole Al Khaleej Newspaper meeting

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is expected to make important comments regarding the economic outlook next Friday at the annual Kansas City Economic Conference to be held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The annual gathering of global central bank governors will give Powell an opportunity to present the latest trends in the US economic path and monetary policy expectations, which comes midway between the central bank’s July and September meetings. Powell announced last month that if inflation and the labor market continue to slow, lowering interest rates could be a topic of discussion at the next meeting after Jackson Hole.
It should be noted that the Federal Reserve has kept interest rates in the range of 5.25 to 5.50% for over a year now, to slow economic growth and pressure inflation to return to normal levels.
Weak labor market data earlier this month also raised fears among investors that the Fed would leave policy pegged for too long, and that it would have to cut interest rates by half a percentage point in September, if not before, to face a recession in the economy.
In contrast, recent data, including a strong retail sales report earlier on Thursday, were more encouraging, indicating that inflation is already falling and the economy is far from ‘fall apart. (Reuters)