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WASHINGTON—Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell sent a strong signal Wednesday the central bank could cut interest rates later this month
by highlighting how the economic outlook hasn’t improved in recent weeks.Mr. Powell also said he wouldn’t leave his office if President Trump tried to replace him.
After Fed officials
agreed to hold rates steady last month, Mr. Powell strongly suggested they could lower them in the months ahead if an economic outlook clouded by uncertainty over
trade policy and weakening global growth didn’t brighten. On Wednesday, he said recent data showed little reason to expect improvement. “
The bottom line for me is the uncertainties around global growth and trade continue to weigh on the outlook,” Mr. Powell told the House Financial Services Committee.
But Mr. Powell spent far more time Wednesday detailing the risks to the economy. Pressed on whether the
strong June jobs report last week, in which employers added 224,000 jobs, had changed the outlook, Mr. Powell said,
“The straight answer to your question is ‘no.’”
Data on growth from Europe and China has continued to disappoint relative to expectations since Fed officials met in June, Mr. Powell said. Growth in business investment has “slowed notably,” he said, possibly reflecting worries about trade
Jerome Powell Says Outlook Hasn’t Improved in Recent Weeks, Setting Stage for Rate Cut