United States Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated on Friday in his speech at Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia, that the central bank is prepared to tighten its monetary policy more should that be necessary.
Nonetheless, he also repeated that "the FOMC is moving forward carefully, as the risks of under- and over-tightening are becoming more balanced." The policymaker said the labor market "remains very strong" and the economy is moving towards a "better balance between the demand for and supply of workers." Meanwhile, he believes the economic outlook uncertainty is "unusually elevated."
Speaking about core inflation, Powell mentioned that in the six months ending October, it clocked in at an annual rate of 2.5%. He once again welcomed the weaker inflation readings in the past couple of months, but reminded the public that "progress must continue," for the 2% objective to be reached. Thus, he stressed it would be premature "to conclude with confidence that we have achieved a sufficiently restrictive stance."
