In the semi-annual testimony, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said there were “crosscurrents and conflicting signals” in the past few months. He explained that the conflicting signals include disappointing data, like retails, that’s in contrast to strong job data. And there will be drags from slowdown overseas that US may “feel more of” in the coming months. But he emphasized that the “baseline outlook is a good one”.
For now, Powell added, “we have the makings of a good outlook and our committee is really monitoring the crosscurrents, the risks, and for now we are going to be patient with our policy and allow things to take time to clarify.”
He also reiterated that “going forward, our policy decisions will continue to be data dependent and will take into account new information as economic conditions and the outlook evolve.”
