MNI BRIEF: Powell - Fed Wants More Confidence On Disinflation

U.S. inflation appears to be making additional progress in cooling toward the Federal Reserve’s 2% target but policymakers need more confidence the process will be sustained before cutting interest rates, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday.

“We want to be more confident that inflation is moving sustainably down toward 2% before we start the process of reducing how tight our policy is, of loosening policy,” Powell said during a panel at the ECB’s conference in Sintra. “We have the ability to take our time and get this right."

Powell praised recent progress on inflation, arguing that the past couple of months of data suggest the disinflation trend has resumed. (See MNI INTERVIEW: U.S. Consumers Expect More Disinflation-UMich)