Powell: Fed still sees rate cuts this year; election timing won't affect decision
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Federal Reserve officials, including Chair Jerome Powell, plan to reduce the benchmark interest rate later this year despite recent reports of a strong US economy and increased inflation. Powell stated that the recent data does not significantly change the overall picture of solid growth, a strong labor market, and inflation moving towards 2%. Most Fed officials see it as likely to be appropriate to start cutting rates at some point this year. Powell also emphasized that the Fed's interest-rate decisions will not be affected by the timing of the presidential election. The recent pickup in inflation has led some economists to postpone their projections for rate cuts, but many economists predict that the first rate cut won't come until July or later. Powell noted that the Fed is intended to be fully independent of politics and make monetary policy decisions without consideration of short-term political matters. The Fed's goal is to slow inflation to its 2% target, but the strength of the economy, particularly solid consumer spending, could make it harder to achieve this goal. Fed officials forecasted that they could cut the benchmark rate three times this year, but nearly half of the policymakers expect two or fewer rate cuts.

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https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/powell-fed-sees-rate-cuts-year-election-timing-108806298