WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th January, 2019) The Federal Reserve has the ability to watch patiently before deciding if and when it will next be necessary to raise US interest rates, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a speech to the Economic Club in Washington on Thursday.
"We have the ability to be patient and watch patiently as we figure which of these two narratives is going to be the narrative of 2018," Powell said. "We can be patient and flexible and see what will involve ... You should anticipate that we are going to be patient and watching."
At the last meeting of the 12 Federal Reserve regional chairs from across the United States in December there was a median consensus to raise interest rates twice during 2019, Powell acknowledged.
"Two rate increases was the median (for 2019)," he said.
On December 19, the Federal Reserve increased the interest rate for the fourth time in 2018 - from 2.25 percent to 2.5 percent. The Federal Reserve also indicated that it would press ahead with plans for more interest rate hikes in 2019.
US President Donald Trump appointed Powell to lead the Federal Reserve and cannot intervene in its work, but he has made his displeasure known with interest rate increases in recent months.
