Fed Chair Powell: ‘Despite Heightened Uncertainty, The Economy Is Still In A Solid Position’

During Wednesday's press briefing, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell discussed the decision to keep interest rates steady.

Transcript

00:00CHAIRMAN BERNANKE.

00:07Good afternoon.

00:10My colleagues and I remain squarely focused

00:12on achieving our dual-mandate goals of maximum employment

00:15and stable prices for the benefit of the American people.

00:19Despite heightened uncertainty,

00:21the economy is still in a solid position.

00:23The unemployment rate remains low,

00:26and the labor market is at or near maximum employment.

00:30Inflation has come down a great deal,

00:32but has been running somewhat above our 2 percent longer-run objective.

00:36In support of our goals, today the Federal Open Market Committee

00:41decided to leave our policy interest rate unchanged.

00:45The risks of higher unemployment

00:47and higher inflation appear to have risen,

00:49and we believe that the current stance

00:51of monetary policy leaves us well-positioned to respond

00:54in a timely way to potential economic developments.

00:57JEPSON

01:04SOCIAL