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MNI TRANSCRIPT: Powell on Political Pressure, Balance Sheet

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following is the portion of a transcript from
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's press conference after the FOMC meeting
Wednesday:
     Q: The President has repeatedly called for this rate like and for the Fed
to end the runoff of the balance sheet. What do you say to those that say that
the Fed gave into what the President wanted today and could you also elaborate
on why the Fed decided to speed up its runoff two months earlier today. 
     A: I gave my reasons -- our reasons, really -- for doing this. And, you
know, just to touch on that again, this action is designed to ensure against
downside risks due to weak global growth, outset the effect and promote return
to 2% inflation rate. That's what we've been talking about all year long. We've
gradually moved our policy in the direction of more accommodation. You see an
economy that has reacted well to that. So that's what we're doing and that's why
we're doing it. We never take into account political considerations. There's no
place in our discussions for that. We don't conduct monetary policy in order to
prove our independence. We conduct it in order to move as close as possible to
our statutory goals. That's what we're always going to do. We're always going to
use our tools that way. And at the end we'll live with the results. In terms of
the balance sheet, that was really just a matter of simplicity and consistency,
really nothing more to it than that. 
--MNI Washington Bureau; tel: +1 202-371-2121; email: kevin.kastner@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: MMUFE$,M$U$$$]

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