NEWSFAX – Today
By Hal Mitchell
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday in a high-profile speech said that the job market is on such shaky ground that the Federal Reserve may soon need to cut interest rates to support the economy. Powell suggested the labor market could benefit from lower rates, which the Fed has kept unchanged for eight straight months.
In his speech, he suggested that the Fed may need to cut rates at its next meeting, in September. He cited growing risks to the economy, including some “unusual” behavior in the job market that could become a cause for concern. His remarks come at a time when the Trump administration is ramping up the pressure for rate cuts. Trump has repeatedly called for rate cuts, arguing there is “no inflation” and saying that a cut would lower the government’s interest payments on its $37 trillion in debt.