Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is in no rush to cut interest rates, with a solid economic backdrop giving policymakers the luxury of time to figure out the best path lower. Inflation remains on a bumpy road to the Fed's 2% target.
"The economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates," Powell said in prepared remarks for an event at the Dallas Regional Chamber in Dallas on Thursday. "The strength we are currently seeing in the economy gives us the ability to approach our decisions carefully."
It was Powell's first public remarks since his postmeeting press conference on Nov. 7 when policymakers reduced their rate target by 0.25 percentage point to a range of 4.5% to 4.75%, following a half-point cut in September.
Powell gave an upbeat assessment of the present state of the U.S. economy, pointing to 3% real gross domestic product growth last year and 2.5% growth in 2024. "The recent performance of our economy has been remarkably good, by far the best of any major economy in the world," he said.
