The United States economy slowed "significantly" in 2022, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated on Wednesday.
Speaking at a press conference after the Fed raised the main interest rate by 0.25 percentage points, Powell stressed that the central bank has "covered a lot of ground" but that "there's more work to do," underlining that the Fed is strongly committed to pushing inflation down to 2%. Price stability is the "bedrock" of the economy and
ongoing rate hikes will be appropriate, he noted.
Despite moderating recently, inflation is still well above the central bank's 2% target and the Fed will need more evidence to be convinced that inflation is on a "sustained downward path," Powell stressed. He reiterated that the historical record shows that monetary policy should not be eased too early.
