(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) WASHINGTON, March 6 (KUNA) -- US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that policymakers are on track to cut interest rates sometime in 2024, but are not ready to do so until they are confident inflation is tamed.
"The committee does not expect that it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent," he said in remarks prepared for testimony before the House Financial Services Committee.
The Fed chief is on Capitol Hill for the first of two days of his semi-annual monetary policy testimony. He is slated to appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.
"We believe that our policy rate is likely at its peak for this tightening cycle," he said.
"If the economy evolves broadly as expected, it will likely be appropriate to begin dialing back policy restraint at some point this year. But the economic outlook is uncertain, and ongoing progress toward our 2 percent inflation objective is not assured."
The Federal Open Market Committee voted during its January meeting to hold rates steady at a range of 5.25-5.5 percent, the highest level in 22 years.
Although officials also cracked open the door to reducing rates this year, Powell has repeatedly pushed back against expectations for imminent cuts.
Officials hold their next meeting on March 19-20, where they are widely expected to hold rates steady for the fifth straight time.
Most investors now expect the Fed to begin cutting rates in June and are penciling in three to four reductions this year, a dramatic shift from the start of the year, when they anticipated six rate cuts beginning as soon as March.
Policymakers have raised interest rates sharply over the past two years, approving 11 rate increases in the hopes of crushing inflation and cooling the economy. In the span of just 16 months, interest rates surged from near zero to above 5 percent, the fastest pace of tightening since the 1980s. (end)
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