Fed Chair Powell: current policy stance good for wait-and-see approach

Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said that the current policy stance is good, can take a wait-and-see attitude, the policy has a moderately restrictive. Currently is a good time to take a step back and sort out the situation. It is too early to say what kind of monetary policy response should be taken. Progress towards the 2 per cent inflation target has slowed recently. In the 12 months to February, total PCE prices rose by 2.5 per cent. Core PCE prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories, rose by 2.8 per cent. Looking ahead, higher tariffs will play a role in our economy and could raise inflation in coming quarters. Longer-term inflation expectations (those for the next few years) remain well anchored and consistent with our 2% inflation target by most measures. We remain committed to returning inflation to the 2 per cent target on a sustainable basis.