MNI TRANSCRIPT: Powell on Raising Interest Rates

     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: You have prepared this rate cutting cycle to the insurance cuts in the

'90s. The Greenspan fed took those cuts back after awhile. They raised rates

again fairly quickly. I am curious what the onus is for doing that in this

cycle. What would you make you guys decide it is appropriate to raise interest

rates again?

     A: So the reason why we raised interest rates is because generally is

because we see inflation as moving up or in danger of moving significantly. We

don't see that now. Inflation moved down in the first quarter of this year. We

thought that that was due to some extent to tran jent factors. That turns out to

have been the case. It has moved back up. But it seems to be settling in below

2%. So we really don't see that risk. And inflation expectations have also kind

of moved down and sideways both surveys and market based over the course of this

-- of really the recent months. And, you know, we think that inflation

expectations are very important in driving actual inflation and we are strongly

committed to achieving our 2% I inflation objective. So we are not thinking

about raising rates right now. There will be time s in the future appropriate.

What we are thinking now is that our current stance of policy is appropriate.

Will remain so as long as the outlook is keeping with the expectations.

--MNI Washington Bureau; +1 202 371 2121; email: brooke.migdon@marketnews.com

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