BREAKING: FED Chairman Jerome Powell is Making a Speech – Here’s What He Says LIVE

FED Chairman Jerome Powell made interesting statements about the US economy in his speech at the Chicago Economic Club, which was held as planned today.

Here’s what Powell said:

• Current policy is well placed and we will await clearer economic data before considering changing the policy stance.
• Despite heightened uncertainty and ongoing downside risks, the U.S. economy remains “strong.”
• Employment is now near its highest level, inflation is just above the 2% target, and inflation has fallen significantly.
• Economic growth in the first quarter of 2025 may slow compared to stable growth last year.
• Strong imports in the first quarter will drag down GDP growth.
• Business and household confidence fell sharply and uncertainty increased, reflecting concerns about trade policy.
• The labor market is robust and broadly balanced, and there is currently no pressure on inflation.
• Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) are expected to grow by 2.3% and core PCE by 2.6% in the 12 months ending in March.
• Government policies are still being adjusted and the associated impacts remain highly uncertain.
• The tariffs, which are much higher than expected so far, could mean higher inflation and slower economic growth.
• The inflationary impact of tariffs may be more persistent and ultimately depends on market inflation expectations.
• Our responsibility is to keep long-term inflation expectations intact.
• We may face a difficult situation where there is a conflict between two goals. In such a case, we will assess how far the economy is from our various goals and the potential timeframe for closing these gaps.
• The impact of policies may cause the Fed to deviate from its intended targets.
• We are expected to deviate from the targets set for the rest of this year, but perhaps we will be able to meet the targets again next year.
• Tariff levels exceed Fed’s optimistic expectations.
• The FED should keep inflation expectations stable;
• The FED’s responsibility is to ensure that inflation expectations do not turn into persistent inflation.
• Automakers’ supply chains could continue to be disrupted in the coming years, potentially leading to persistent inflation.
• The federal government’s reduction in funding for scientific research is expected to have a significant impact on employment.
• Cuts in funding for universities and scientific research are having a significant impact in some cities and could have long-term effects on productivity.
• There is no conflict yet between the Fed’s two goals, but the current trend is for unemployment and inflation levels to rise.
• If uncertainty remains high, the situation will become difficult and will negatively impact investments.
• The market is digesting historically rare events and market volatility is expected to continue as uncertainty remains high.
• We have not yet reached the point where we need to stop reducing our balance sheet size.
• In case of a shortage of US dollars, the Fed is ready to provide US dollars to central banks around the world.
• We need to deal with the debt trend.

(Explanations will be updated as they are added.)

*This is not investment advice.