US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has cautioned against optimism for a near-term interest rate cut in a hawkish speech at a US-Canada economic policy forum.
“Recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence,” said Powell. Instead, it “indicates that it’s likely to take longer than expected to achieve that confidence”.
He stated that the Fed is willing to maintain the current level of interest rates “for as long as needed” if inflation persists in the world’s largest economy.
Consumer prices in the US rose faster than expected last month, adding 3.5% year on year from 3.2% in February, driven by fuel, housing and clothing.
"More recent data shows solid growth and continued strength in the labour market, but also a lack of further progress so far this year on returning to our 2% inflation goal," Powell said.
Despite his hawkish comments, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 closed in the green on Tuesday.