Powell signals Fed is on track to keep cutting rates

Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, signaled further room for the central bank to lower borrowing costs this year to shore up the labor market despite the recent reacceleration in inflation.

Powell, speaking Tuesday at an event hosted by the National Association for Business Economics, deviated little from his recent message that the Fed should be responsive to the slowdown in monthly jobs growth and other signs of softness across the labor market.

While he conceded that economic activity was on a “somewhat firmer trajectory than expected,” Powell stressed that “the downside risks to employment appear to have risen.”

That suggests the central bank is likely to proceed with additional cuts at its two remaining meetings this year, one Oct. 28-29 and another in December.

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