Cuts coming soon!
"IN A GOOD PLACE"
Fed chairs, covered intently by the financial press worldwide, occasionally use appearances on popular and widely available shows like "60 Minutes" to flag turning points in policy or to take note of major developments. Powell did so at the start of the pandemic to reassure the public that the central bank stood behind the economy.
In this case the message was a positive one of falling inflation, strong employment, and a coming easing of credit conditions -- all without the "pain" that Powell had earlier warned was in store for households as the Fed contained the worst outbreak of inflation in 40 years.
"We think the economy's in a good place. We think inflation is coming down. We just want to gain a little more confidence that it's coming down in a sustainable way toward our 2% goal," Powell said.
The Fed's preferred measure of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures price index, was running at a 2.6% annual rate as of December, though over shorter three- and six-month horizons it has been below the Fed's target.