All economic forecasts are subject to considerable uncertainty. There is always a wide range of plausible outcomes for important economic variables, including the federal funds rate.

Jerome Powell

Categorized in : Always Important Economic Uncertainty

The ratio of household borrowing to income is low relative to its pre-crisis level and has been gradually declining in recent years.

We are not in a place where I think we would conduct monetary policy in order to deal with climate change type issues.

You are seeing strong durable goods sales. You are seeing housing now contributing to growth for the first time in a while. And you are seeing retail sales, more broadly, monetary policy is also supporting household spending and home buying by keeping the labor market strong, keeping workers incomes rising, and keeping consumer confidence at high levels.

Trade developments have been up and down and then up, I guess, back up perhaps over the course of this interview, i do believe our shifting to a more accommodative stance over the course of the year has been one of the reasons why the outlook has remained favorable.

It is an unusual situation, the U.S. economy in itself is strong. ... The difference here is we have significant risks.

If the economy does turn down, then a more extensive sequence of... by Jerome Powell

If the economy does turn down, then a more extensive sequence of rate cuts could be appropriate.

We are going to be highly data-dependent ... We are not on a pre-set course, we are going to be making decisions meeting by meeting.

Political factors play absolutely no role in our process, and my colleagues and I would not tolerate any attempt to include them in our decision-making or our discussions.

Our obligation is to use our tools to support the economy, and th... by Jerome Powell

Our obligation is to use our tools to support the economy, and that's what we'll continue to do.

Let me be clear – it's not the beginning of a long series of rate... by Jerome Powell

Let me be clear – it's not the beginning of a long series of rate cuts.

It's something that doesn't fit neatly or easily within our regulatory scheme but it does have potentially systemic scale, it needs a careful look, so I strongly believe we all need to be taking our time with this.

Libra raises many serious concerns regarding privacy, money laundering, consumer protection and financial stability.

Facebook has a couple billion-plus users, so I think you have for the first time the possibility of very broad adoption.

You have oversight over us, in our system of government, it's Con... by Jerome Powell

You have oversight over us, in our system of government, it's Congress.

Of course I would not do that. by Jerome Powell

Of course I would not do that.

I think the law is clear that I have a four-year term and I inten... by Jerome Powell

I think the law is clear that I have a four-year term and I intended to serve it.

News about trade has been an important driver of sentiment in the... by Jerome Powell

News about trade has been an important driver of sentiment in the interim.

While the baseline outlook remains favorable, many FOMC participants cited the investment picture and weaker business sentiment ... in supporting their judgment that the risk of less favorable outcomes has risen.

Seven weeks ago we had a great jobs report and came out of the last meeting feeling that the economy and our policy was in a good place, news about trade has been an important driver of sentiment in the interim.

Ultimately the question we are going to be asking ourselves is, 'are these risks going to be continuing to weigh on the outlook?' we will act as needed, including promptly if that's appropriate, and use our tools to sustain the expansion.