(AURN News) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell addressed the pressing economic issues facing the country Thursday at the 24th Jacques Polak Annual Research Conference, organized by the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. Powell highlighted the progress made in tackling inflation but expressed caution regarding the challenges that lie ahead.
“We are making decisions meeting by meeting, based on the totality of the incoming data and their implications for the outlook for economic activity and inflation, as well as the balance of risks, determining the extent of additional policy firming that may be appropriate to return inflation to 2 percent over time. We will keep at it until the job is done,” he said
However, he also reminded those in attendance that there is still work to be done.
“We will begin our next five-year review in the latter half of 2024 and announce the results about a year later. Among the questions we will consider is the degree to which the structural features of the economy that led to low-interest rates in the pre-pandemic era will persist. With time, we will continue to learn from the experience of the past few years, and what implications it may hold for monetary policy,” Powell commented.
He also made reference to the labor market, which has shown improvement but is still tight. What cannot be ignored are the continued tangible impacts of inflation that Americans continue to feel. Many are still grappling with financial constraints in their daily lives. However, there may be a silver lining at the Thanksgiving table this year. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, as of August, the average price for an 8 to 16-pound turkey had decreased to $1.27 per pound, which was 22% lower than last year.
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