Powell reiterated a stance he outlined a few weeks ago that the Fed's moves this year toward more accommodative monetary policy have helped support an economy that continues to grow.
He noted that Fed moves tend to have a lagged effect, meaning that it will take time to assess what impact they are having.
"Looking ahead, my colleagues and I see a sustained expansion of economic activity, a strong labor market, and inflation near our symmetric 2 percent objective as most likely," he said in his Wednesday remarks. "This favorable baseline partly reflects the policy adjustments that we have made to provide support for the economy."As he has multiple times before, Powell cautioned that challenges remain, such as weakness abroad, trade tensions and low inflation.
For his part, Powell also has said that inflation would have to rise substantially before he would consider a rate hike. He said Wednesday that policymakers will continue to assess what needs to be done. "We will be monitoring the effects of our policy actions, along with other information bearing on the outlook, as we assess the appropriate path of the target range for the federal funds rate," he said. "Of course, if developments emerge that cause a material reassessment of our outlook, we would respond accordingly. Policy is not on a preset course."
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