Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on the 29th that the US February Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index released that day was “in line with our expectations.” The photo was taken on the 20th. (2024 Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that the February US personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index released that day was “in line with our expectations.” He expressed the opinion that it was.
“It wasn’t as low as a lot of the good numbers we had in the second half of last year, but it was certainly in line with our expectations,” Powell said in an interview on public radio at the San Francisco Fed. . “There is no need to overreact” to the results, he said.
The comments coincided with a press conference last week after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
The PCE core price index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.3% in February from the previous month. Powell said last week that he expected the February results to be “well below” 0.3%, but said the February results did not undermine the Fed’s underlying outlook. See more
Powell said the Fed “needs more confirmation” that inflation is slowing before starting to cut rates. “The decision to start cutting interest rates is a very, very important one,” he said. “At the moment, the economy is strong, the labor market is strong, and inflation is coming down. We can make a prudent decision. Yes, I will.”
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