Fed's Powell says more 'good' inflation data would bolster the case for rate cuts

foxbusiness.com:

 Strategas' Jason Trennert says it is hard to not be involved in the stock market on 'Maria Bartiromo's Wall Street.'

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that policymakers have been encouraged by recent data that suggests inflation is receding, and that continued progress would strengthen the case for an interest rate cut.  

«Incoming data for the first quarter of this year did not support such greater confidence. The most recent inflation readings, however, have shown some modest further progress, and more good data would strengthen our confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent,» Powell said in remarks prepared for testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.

The Fed chief is on Capitol Hill for the first of two days of his semi-annual monetary policy testimony. He is slated to appear before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.

FED HOLDS RATES STEADY AT 23-YEAR HIGH, PROJECTS JUST ONE CUT THIS YEAR

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Washington, DC on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. (Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Powell also said officials are trying to balance the risks between cutting interest rates too soon, which risks setting off inflation again, or waiting too long to cut rates, which could weigh on the economy and possibly trigger a recession.

«In light of the progress made both in lowering inflation and in cooling the labor market over the past two years, elevated inflation is not the only risk we face,» he said. «Reducing policy restraint too late or too little could unduly weaken economic activity and employment.»

Officials voted at their most