United States Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that he would not "attribute huge importance to one [interest rate] hike in macroeconomic terms."
Powell made the comment after he was asked by a reporter about the effects of either holding the rate at the current level or raising it once again before the end of 2023, which is what most policymakers said they expect. Today's decision to hold the rate does not mean the central bank has reached the level of the federal funds rate it deems appropriate to put it on a path toward 2% inflation and it still needs "convincing" evidence before making that conclusion, he warned.
The Fed wants to see more encouraging inflation and labor data, and the moves it has made so far have enabled it to now proceed carefully with its next monetary policy moves, Powell also stated.
