The central bank might have begun cutting interest rates in late July had it known that the labor market was cooling as fast as it has been, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday. “If you ask,

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell called the U.S. economy “strong overall” in a news conference on Sept. 18.

The Fed cut interest rates by half a percentage point yesterday—the first cut in four years and double the 25 basis points that many expected from the central bank. And yet the markets dipped down, perhaps because of a perceived disconnect between Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s sunny prognosis that “the economy is in good shape” and the committee’s bold action that suggests a possible recession on the horizon.

The U.S. central bank might have begun cutting interest rates in late July had it known that the labor market was cooling as fast as it has been, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said during a Wednesday press conference that the first interest rate cut since 2020 is designed to maintain the strong U.S. economy.

Powell rejects accusations that timing of rate cut is political and adds US labor market is ‘at a strong place’