US Fed could hike rates again if 'appropriate': Powell
US Federal Reserve is prepared, if needed, to hike interest rates further in order to bring inflation down to its long-term two percent target, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday.
«We know that ongoing progress toward our two percent goal is not assured: Inflation has given us a few head fakes,» Powell told a conference in Washington.
«If it becomes appropriate to tighten policy further, we will not hesitate to do so,» he added, in remarks that were briefly disrupted by climate protesters.
Powell's comments come just over a week after the US central bank voted to hold interest rates steady at a 22-year high for a second consecutive meeting, fueling expectations that it was done with rate hikes.
While the Fed's rate-setting committee is «committed» to achieving a sufficiently tight stance of monetary policy, «we are not confident that we have achieved such a stance,» Powell said.
The Fed chair's comments suggest the US central bank is still concerned about the prospect of a re-acceleration of inflation, which has more than halved since peaking last year, according to the Fed's favored yardstick.
However, Powell later indicated that he felt the Fed was «probably» at a point where its monetary policy was «significantly restrictive,» suggesting that the Fed felt confident in its current stance.
«We're watching the effect carefully on the economy,» he said.
Despite the Fed's aggressive monetary tightening, which brought rates to a level between 5.25-5.50 percent, economic growth remains strong and the labor market remains fairly buoyant — although it has shown some recent signs of slowing.
The strong recent economic data has increased the likelihood of a so-called «soft landing,» whereby the Fed succeeds in
