Powell says awaiting ‘greater clarity’ before rate adjustments

At the Economic Club of Chicago, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said, “For the time being, we are well positioned to wait for greater clarity before considering any adjustments to our policy stance.” Powell added, “Our obligation is to keep longer-term inflation expectations well anchored and to make certain that a one-time increase in the price level does not become an ongoing inflation problem…We may find ourselves in the challenging scenario in which our dual-mandate goals are in tension. If that were to occur, we would consider how far the economy is from each goal, and the potentially different time horizons over which those respective gaps would be anticipated to close.”