Here are the five key takeaways from today’s event:Powell’s comments were in line with what he said last week in the press conference that followed the Fed’s September meeting. He noted that the Fed is in a tough spot, where the risks to inflation are to the upside and those to employment are to the downside. He reiterated that there is no risk-free path for policy at this point.
He offered no insight into what he and his colleagues might do at future meetings, instead emphasizing that there’s still a lot of uncertainty about how the economy will unfold and how it’ll react to various new policies, including on trade and taxes.
Powell said that while there’s been a meaningful weakening in the labor market, some indicators point to stability there and that it’s an “unusual kind of balance” where both demand for workers and the supply of them is lower.
On inflation, Powell says it looks like tariffs will drive a “one-time pass-through” rise in prices. The impact from has so far been smaller and later than what he had expected, but the question is how long that will remain the case. Fed officials have been cautious about cutting rates because inflation is not yet at the central bank’s 2% target.
Stocks headed down as Powell spoke and hit their session lows after he was done.