Fed Chief Says U.S. Economy Is at an ‘Inflection Point’ as Risks Remain

Mr. Powell reiterated that approach on Sunday, saying that the central bank would “consider raising rates when the labor market recovery is essentially complete, and we’re back to maximum employment, and inflation is back to our 2 percent goal and is on track to move above 2 percent for some time.”

But he said it would “be a while until we get to that place.”

Discussing inflation, Mr. Powell once again made clear that the Fed wanted to see “sustainable” price increases before it adjusted monetary policy.

“Inflation has been below 2 percent,” he said. “We want it to be just moderately above 2 percent. So that’s what we’re looking for.”

“And when we get that,” he added, “that’s when we’ll raise interest rates.”

Some prominent onlookers have warned that the economy has the potential overheat as the federal government pumps out trillions of dollars in stimulus aid and other spending and as the economy reopens, allowing consumers to spend more money.

So far, no sustained inflation spike has materialized.

Figures show the economy is recovering, albeit slowly. Employers added more than 900,000 workers to payrolls last month, but the country is still missing millions of jobs compared with February 2020, and just last week state jobless claims climbed.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/11/business/economy/jerome-powell-60-minutes.html