Powell: No rush to cut interest rates until the impact of Trump's policies becomes clearer

On March 8th, Federal Reserve Chairperson Jerome Powell said on Friday that there will be no rush to cut interest rates until there is further clarity on how the policies of the new Trump administration will affect the economy. "The new administration is implementing major policy changes in four different areas: trade, immigration, fiscal policy and regulation," Powell said. "Uncertainty surrounding these changes and the impact they may have remains high. Our focus is on separating the signal from the noise as the outlook changes. We don't have to rush, we are fully capable of waiting for a clearer outlook." Powell's remarks come at a tumultuous time when stocks and bond yields have both fallen, and Trump announced high import tariffs on major trading partners Mexico and Canada, which were then delayed. While Powell said the economy "continues to be in good shape," the data also pointed to a possible slowdown in consumer spending and "increased uncertainty about the economic outlook" among businesses and companies. Powell added that key indicators remained solid and that progress on continued inflation and job gains, while uneven, continued.