Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Powell, Citing Jobs Risk, Opens Door to Cuts but Doesn’t Commit

2 hours ago

Gavin Newsom’s Redistricting Plan Is on Its Way to Voters. What You Need to Know

17 hours ago

CARB Executive Leader Rips Trump’s EPA for Seeking to Kill Proven Climate Science

20 hours ago

California Lawmakers Advance First Two Bills in Democrats’ Redistricting Plan

20 hours ago

Judge Rules Alina Habba Was Unlawfully Appointed as US Attorney in New Jersey

20 hours ago

Trump Say He Will Go on Patrol in Washington With Police, Military

23 hours ago

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Latest Role Is Social Media Troll

1 day ago

California Supreme Court Paves the Way for Democrats’ Redistricting Plan

1 day ago

Why COVID Is Spreading Again This Summer

2 days ago

Most Americans Believe Countries Should Recognize Palestinian State, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

2 days ago
Powell, Citing Jobs Risk, Opens Door to Cuts but Doesn't Commit
Reuters logo
By Reuters
Published 2 hours ago on
August 22, 2025

President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speak during a tour of the Federal Reserve Board building, which is currently undergoing renovations, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 24, 2025. (Reuters File)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday pointed to a possible rate cut at the central bank’s September meeting but stopped short of committing to cutting interest rates in remarks that walked a narrow line acknowledging growing risks to the job market while also saying risks of higher inflation remain.

“While the labor market appears to be in balance, it is a curious kind of balance that results from a marked slowing in both the supply of and demand for workers. This unusual situation suggests that downside risks to employment are rising. And if those risks materialize, they can do so quickly,” Powell told an audience of international economists and policymakers at the Fed’s annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. “It is also possible, however, that the upward pressure on prices from tariffs could spur a more lasting inflation dynamic, and that is a risk to be assessed and managed.”

“The stability of the unemployment rate and other labor market measures allows us to proceed carefully as we consider changes to our policy stance. Nonetheless, with policy in restrictive territory, the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance,” Powell said, noting that while tariffs are expected to drive prices higher the baseline case is for that impact on inflation to fade.

Powell’s comments open the door to a rate cut at the Fed’s September 16-17 meeting, but also put heavy weight on jobs and inflation reports that will be received before then. The next monthly jobs report comes on September 5, with data on consumer and producer prices due the week after.

U.S. stocks rose after the remarks, and traders assigned a nearly 90% probability of a quarter-point interest-rate cut next month, up from about 75% earlier.

Powell’s remarks offered little guidance about how soon or how quickly rates might continue to move lower, likely stoking further pressure from President Donald Trump, who contends there is no risk of inflation and that the Fed should slash rates immediately. Trump has been pressuring the Fed with calls for Powell to resign that broadened this week to calls for Fed Governor Lisa Cook to also leave office.

Powell received a standing ovation at the start of his remarks, a coda to eight years which began and ended with withering criticism from Trump, who elevated him to chair in his first term but quickly soured on his unwillingness to keep monetary policy as loose as Trump wanted. The Trump administration is both searching for a replacement and pressuring Powell and other members of the Board of Governors to resign in hopes of appointing a majority of the seven-member body.

The Fed chair cannot be removed over disputes about interest rate decisions, and Powell has said he intends to serve out his full second term, which ends in May.

Alongside his update on the economy Powell released a new Fed strategic framework that emphasized that its maximum employment mandate hinges on price stability.

Trump in his first term promoted Powell from a seat on the board to chair, but soon began criticizing him. Powell was reappointed to a second four-year stint by President Joe Biden.

The Fed has kept its policy rate of interest on hold at the current 4.25%-to-4.50% range since December as officials began grappling with the likely impact the incoming administration’s policies might have on inflation, which remains above the central bank’s 2% target and is projected to rise as new import tariffs work their way into consumer prices.

Some policymakers, including Governor Christopher Waller, among those on a list of possible Powell replacements, argue the impact will be modest and short-lived, and that rate cuts are warranted now to protect a weakening job market.

Economic data since the Fed’s last meeting have pulled officials in both directions, with an upcoming employment report for the month of August now figuring heavily in what the Fed says and does at its September meeting. The meeting will include new quarterly economic projections from policymakers who as of June anticipated the need for two quarter-point rate cuts this year.

(Reporting by Howard Schneider and Ann Saphir; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Feds Indict Retired Fresno Judge for Sexual Assault and Obstructing an Investigation

DON'T MISS

Canada to Remove Many Retaliatory Tariffs on US Goods, Says Source

DON'T MISS

After Joining TikTok, Trump Says He Could Extend Sale Deadline if Needed

DON'T MISS

LaVerne and Shirley Will Deliver Double the Joy for Their Adoptive Family

DON'T MISS

Highway 99 Stop in Fresno Leads CHP to Big Marijuana Bust, DUI Arrest

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Anthony Mark Lowry

DON'T MISS

Powell, Citing Jobs Risk, Opens Door to Cuts but Doesn’t Commit

DON'T MISS

FBI Agents Search Ex-Trump Adviser Bolton’s Home, Source Says

DON'T MISS

Gaza City Officially in Famine, With Hunger Spreading, Says Global Hunger Monitor

DON'T MISS

Gavin Newsom’s Redistricting Plan Is on Its Way to Voters. What You Need to Know

UP NEXT

Canada to Remove Many Retaliatory Tariffs on US Goods, Says Source

UP NEXT

After Joining TikTok, Trump Says He Could Extend Sale Deadline if Needed

UP NEXT

LaVerne and Shirley Will Deliver Double the Joy for Their Adoptive Family

UP NEXT

Highway 99 Stop in Fresno Leads CHP to Big Marijuana Bust, DUI Arrest

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Anthony Mark Lowry

UP NEXT

Powell, Citing Jobs Risk, Opens Door to Cuts but Doesn’t Commit

UP NEXT

FBI Agents Search Ex-Trump Adviser Bolton’s Home, Source Says

UP NEXT

Gaza City Officially in Famine, With Hunger Spreading, Says Global Hunger Monitor

UP NEXT

Gavin Newsom’s Redistricting Plan Is on Its Way to Voters. What You Need to Know

UP NEXT

Singer Lil Nas X Arrested After Charging at Officers, Police Say

LaVerne and Shirley Will Deliver Double the Joy for Their Adoptive Family

52 minutes ago

Highway 99 Stop in Fresno Leads CHP to Big Marijuana Bust, DUI Arrest

1 hour ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Anthony Mark Lowry

1 hour ago

Powell, Citing Jobs Risk, Opens Door to Cuts but Doesn’t Commit

2 hours ago

FBI Agents Search Ex-Trump Adviser Bolton’s Home, Source Says

2 hours ago

Gaza City Officially in Famine, With Hunger Spreading, Says Global Hunger Monitor

2 hours ago

Gavin Newsom’s Redistricting Plan Is on Its Way to Voters. What You Need to Know

17 hours ago

Singer Lil Nas X Arrested After Charging at Officers, Police Say

17 hours ago

Fresno Doctor on Bubonic Plague: It’s Rare But It’s Out There. Prevention Is Key

18 hours ago

My Friend Joseph Castro, Former Fresno State President and CSU Chancellor, Is Receiving Hospice Care

18 hours ago

Feds Indict Retired Fresno Judge for Sexual Assault and Obstructing an Investigation

A federal grand jury issued a five-count indictment Thursday against retired Fresno County Superior Court Judge Adolfo Corona for sexual ass...

19 minutes ago

judge adolfo corona getting indicted by grand jury
19 minutes ago

Feds Indict Retired Fresno Judge for Sexual Assault and Obstructing an Investigation

A drone view of Stellantis's Chrysler Windsor Assembly facility in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, February 4, 2025. (Reuters File)
24 minutes ago

Canada to Remove Many Retaliatory Tariffs on US Goods, Says Source

The U.S. flag and the TikTok logo seen through broken glass are seen in this illustration taken January 16, 2025. (Reuters File)
28 minutes ago

After Joining TikTok, Trump Says He Could Extend Sale Deadline if Needed

LaVerne and Shirley GV Wire's Adoptable Pets of the Week Aug. 22, 2025
52 minutes ago

LaVerne and Shirley Will Deliver Double the Joy for Their Adoptive Family

A California Highway Patrol stop on Highway 99 in Fresno early Thursday, August 21, 2025, led to a DUI arrest and the seizure of more than 20 pounds of marijuana. (CHP)
1 hour ago

Highway 99 Stop in Fresno Leads CHP to Big Marijuana Bust, DUI Arrest

Anthony Mark Lowry is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for August 22, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
1 hour ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Anthony Mark Lowry

President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speak during a tour of the Federal Reserve Board building, which is currently undergoing renovations, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 24, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Powell, Citing Jobs Risk, Opens Door to Cuts but Doesn’t Commit

Police officers stand outside the home of the former White House national security adviser John Bolton as it is searched by FBI members, in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S., August 22, 2025. (Reuters/Tasos Katopodis)
2 hours ago

FBI Agents Search Ex-Trump Adviser Bolton’s Home, Source Says

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend