Notable quote for week of May 5, 2024

Our restrictive stance of monetary policy has been putting downward pressure on economic activity and inflation, and the risks to achieving our employment and inflation goals have moved toward better balance over the past year. However, in recent months, inflation has shown a lack of further progress toward our 2% objective, and we remain highly attentive to inflation risks. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates at 5.25% to 5.5%, the highest they have been in 23 years. On Wednesday, May 1, Powell said continued levels of high inflation had led to the decision.

Interest rates have remained at this level since the summer of 2023. At that time, Powell expressed a goal of lowering rates once inflation, or more specifically the headline personal consumption expenditures measure, fell below 2%. It rose from 2.5% in February to 2.7% in March.

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