A rate cut could be on the table as soon as September, if inflation continues to progress toward the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said at his post-monetary policy decision press conference.
In the labor market, supply and demand have come into better balance and have returned to about where they were before the pandemic — “strong, but not overheated,” he said.
Earlier today, the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee kept its benchmark rate at 5.25%-5.50%, a level that it has stayed at since July of last year.
The second quarter’s data has strengthened confidence that inflation is heading sustainably toward the Fed’s 2% goal, he added. It’s waiting for additional data to further strengthen that confidence before the FOMC reduces the federal funds rate target range.
“We have made no decisions about future meetings, and that includes the September meeting,” he said.
