According to PANews, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated that the risks of achieving employment and inflation targets are being better balanced as the tense supply-demand relationship in the labor market eases. Inflation has significantly eased in the past year but remains above the Fed's set 2% long-term target, and long-term inflation expectations are still unstable. If appropriate, the Fed will maintain the federal funds rate target range at its current level for a longer period.
Powell said that the Federal Open Market Committee believes it is 'inappropriate' to lower the target range before having confidence in inflation consistently moving towards 2%. However, the Fed has not yet gained the confidence to begin cutting interest rates from various data. Powell also mentioned that discussions took place during the meeting about slowing down the reduction of the balance sheet, and that it would be appropriate to slow down the pace of the reduction soon. Slowing down the reduction will ensure a smooth transition, alleviate pressure on the money market, and limit the risk of fluctuations in the money market.
