Fed Chair Powell sticks to wait-and-see stance on interest rates

Alsharq Tribune-AFP 

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday reiterated his wait-and-see stance on interest rates while admitting that the Trump administration's tariffs prevented the Fed from lowering interest rates early.

"As long as the economy is in solid shape, we think the prudent thing to do is to wait and see what those effects might be," said Powell at the European Central Bank (ECB) Forum on Central Banking in the Portuguese resort town of Sintra.

U.S. inflation is likely to go up later this summer despite uncertainties on the timing and magnitude of price increase from the duties, according to Powell.

The Fed would have already cut interest rates in 2025 if not for the shockwaves from tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, according to Powell.

"In effect, we went on hold when we saw the size of the tariffs and essentially all inflation forecasts for the United States went up materially as a consequence of the tariffs," said Powell.

The Fed has kept the target of federal funds rates unchanged at 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent this year.

The Fed's wait-and-see mode has drawn fierce criticism from Trump, who has urged lowering interest rates to reduce the U.S. burden of paying interest on hefty debts.

Powell and the entire Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System should be ashamed of themselves for not cutting interest rates, according to Trump's post on social media on Monday.

"The Board just sits there and watches, so they are equally to blame," added Trump.