Fed postpones rate cut until 'greater confidence' in sustainable inflation levels

Interest rates at 5.25%-5.50%

US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has argued against cutting interest rates until inflation moves "sustainably towards 2%".

Powell's comments came on Tuesday (9 July) during a Congress presentation of the semi-annual monetary policy report published on 5 July. According to him, while data for the first quarter of 2024 "did not support such greater confidence", the most recent inflation readings showed "some modest further progress" in that direction. As a result, the committee left interest rates unchanged at between 5.25% and 5.5% at the last meeting in June. However, Powell added, recent US market indicators highlighted continuous economic expansion, with private domestic demand remaining "robust". In Ju...