'The time has come' to lower interest rates: Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell says he's increasingly confident that inflation will soon be tamed, setting the stage for the central bank to start cutting interest rates next month.
Speaking at one of the most closely-watched annual gatherings of global central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Powell noted that inflation has cooled significantly since hitting a four-decade high in 2022.
At the same time, the U.S. job market has begun cooling, with the unemployment rate inching up. To avoid a further weakening, Powell says he and his colleagues will need to start reducing interest rates, which they've kept elevated for over a year.
