News Digest:

US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has said that the time for interest rate cuts was coming soon but requested all Americans to have a bit more patience with the central bank’s efforts to bring inflation down to the 2% mark, according to a news report.

While effectively ruling out a hike in March after the Fed’s meeting on January 31, Powell said the US economy was strong and the bank would likely lower interest rates later in 2024. Wall Street had raised expectations of a rate cut in the first quarter.

Takeaway:

Powell told CBS 60 Minutes that the Fed wanted to be more confident of inflation moving down to the target rate of 2%. The landmark lending rate continues to hold at a 23-year high and the Fed had held the rates steady for its fourth-straight policy meeting. After the January 2024 meeting, the Fed maintained the rate in the current range of 5.25% to 5.5%.

End Notes

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/04/economy/powell-interview-interest-rates-inflation/index.html