Federal Reserve press conference, 2023-11-01 — Chair Jerome Powell

Question (Jeanna Smialek, New York Times): Hi, Chair Powell. Thank you so much for taking our questions. I wonder, you know, if you don’t raise interest rates in December, would the presumption be at that point that we should expect that rates are at their peak, or is there a possibility of restarting rate increases next year? And are there any costs to taking a more extended pause?
Answer: So, let me start by saying we haven’t made a decision about September. You’re asking a hypothetical there. But we’re going into December meeting—we’ll get, as you know, two more inflation ratings, two more labor market readings, some data on, on economic activity, and so we’ll be taking—and also the broader situation, the broader financial condition situation and broader world situation. We’ll be looking at all those things as we make a decision in December. We haven’t made that decision. I would say, though, that, that the idea that if you—the idea that would—difficult to raise again after stopping for a meeting or two, it’s just not right. I mean, the Committee will always do what it thinks is appropriate at the time. And, again, we haven’t made any decisions about— at all about December. We didn’t even—we didn’t talk about making a decision in December today. Really, it was a decision for this meeting and understanding broader things.