While the US economy remains robust, Jerome Powell cautions there is high uncertainty over its direction
by Callum Jones
The Guardian
onald Trump’s global tariffs assault is set to raise prices and slow down economic growth, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has warned, defying the US president’s demands for an immediate interest rate cut.
While the US economy remains robust, Powell cautioned that there is high uncertainty over its direction. “Downside risks have risen,” he told an event in Arlington, Virginia, on Friday.
The Fed chair stressed that the tariffs unveiled by Trump this week were markedly more extensive than expected – and warned the impact would likely be larger as a result.
Trump promised to bring down prices while campaigning to win back the White House last year, and erroneously claimed on Wednesday they were “way down”, despite inflation holding firm.