Federal Reserve press conference, 2024-11-07 — Chair Jerome Powell

Question (Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press): Great. And just to follow up, could you—what might cause you to pause rate cuts in December? What kind of economic data would lead you to that path? Thank you.
Answer: So we haven’t, you know, made any decision like that at all. But we’re—so we’re in the process, as I mentioned, of moving policy down—our stance down over time to a more neutral level. And, as a general matter, as we move ahead, we are prepared to adjust our assessments of the appropriate pace and destination as the outlook evolves. So, for example, if we were to see the labor market deteriorating, we’d be prepared to move more quickly. Alternatively, as we approach levels that are plausibly neutral or close to neutral, it may turn out to be appropriate to slow the pace at which we’re dialing back restriction. Again, haven’t made any decisions about that, but that’s certainly a possibility. If you— you can think of it as similar to what we do with asset purchase—with asset runoff with QT. So we reach a point where we slow the pace, much like an airplane reaching the airport slows down. And so, you know, it—we’re thinking about it that way, but it’s, it’s something that we’re just beginning to think about.

Question (Kelly O’Grady, nan): Hi, Chair Powell. Kelly O’Grady, CBS News. We just talked about what you’ve heard from business leaders on the economy, but many average Americans are still not feeling the strength of the economy in their wallets. So what’s your message to them on when they might expect relief?
Answer: So you’re right that, you know, we say that the economy is performing well, and it is, but we also know that people are still feeling the effects of high prices, for example. And we went through—the world went through a global inflation shock, and inflation went up everywhere. And, you know, it, it stays with you because the price level doesn’t come back down. So what that takes is it takes some years of real wage gains for people to feel better. And that’s what we’re—that’s what we’re trying to create. And I think we’re well on the road to creating that. Inflation has come way down. The economy is still strong here. Wages are moving up but, but at a sustainable level. So it’s just—I think—I think what needs to happen is happening and, for the most part, has happened. But it’ll be some time before people, you know, regain their confidence and feel that. And, you know, we don’t tell people how to—how to feel about the economy. We respect—completely respect—what they’re feeling. Those feelings are true; they’re accurate. We don’t question them. We—you know, we respect them.