Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says that it is “very premature” to think about pausing rate hikes. “We have a ways to go,” he stressed. However, economist Peter Schiff warned that “Planned rate hikes and QT will only succeed in crashing the economy, not bringing down inflation.”
Fed Chair Powell Says ‘Very Premature’ to Talk About Pausing Interest Rate Hikes
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell clarified during a news conference on the central bank’s economic outlook Wednesday that the Fed is not thinking about pausing its rate hikes. The conference followed the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting where the U.S. central bank decided to raise interest rates another 0.75 percentage point — the fourth consecutive time this year.
Powell said, “The FOMC raised our policy interest rate by 75 basis points and we continue to anticipate that ongoing increases will be appropriate,” adding:
It is very premature, in my view, to think about or be talking about pausing our rate hikes. We have a ways to go.
The Fed chairman also noted that “the ultimate level of interest rates will be higher than previously expected” and the chances of a soft landing have narrowed.
Commenting on Powell indicating that a Fed pivot is not going to happen anytime soon, economist and gold bug Peter Schiff tweeted: “Powell just threw cold water on the idea of a pause in interest rate hikes, causing an immediate, and sharp sell-off in financial markets. The sell-off will likely continue until Powell ‘clarifies’ his remarks to prevent the stock and bond markets from crashing to new lows.”
