Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell carefully opened the door to an interest-rate cut in September, pointing to rising risks for the labor market even as worries over inflation remain.
"The stability of the unemployment rate and other labor market measures allows us to proceed carefully as we consider changes to our policy stance,” Powell said in remarks prepared for the Fed’s annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday. "Nonetheless, with policy in restrictive territory, the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance.”
Following Powell’s remarks, investors boosted bets that the Federal Open Market Committee would cut rates at its Sept. 16-17 meeting. Economists at Deutsche Bank, Barclays and BNP Paribas pulled forward their forecasts for the next rate cut to September.
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