Comments from the Federal Reserve Chairman.
I commented about this recently. Nothing has changed.The Federal Reserve sees no need to cut interest rates in the light of adverse recent economic data, Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday.
The Fed chairman said ”to date, the incoming data have supported the view that the current stance of policy is likely to foster sustainable economic growth and a gradual ebbing in core inflation”.
The Federal Reserve chairman also emphasised that the US central bank remains concerned about the threat that inflation will not moderate as expected, arguing that high levels of resource utilisation could still fuel price rises.He added the US central bank was not as confident in its outlook as it had been a couple of months ago, when it was increasingly upbeat about the prospects for a soft landing.
Mr Bernanke’s remarks - which help clarify a confusing new policy statement issued a week ago - offered no hint that the Fed yet believes that it will have to cut interest rates soon, as the market expects.
But he recognised that “uncertainties around the outlook have increased” and said the Fed would respond in the light of incoming economic data.