Key points from the Fed Chair’s speech:
• At the next meeting, the Fed will take a pause to better assess the situation, as it’s still too early to determine the appropriate course of action.
• The future looks extremely uncertain, and the Fed’s task is to ensure that inflation doesn’t become a prolonged issue—especially given that the impact of tariffs has turned out to be much stronger than expected.
• Prices are rising, inflation is gaining momentum, but the Fed is sticking firmly to its policy and will not rush into making any decisions.
Nothing particularly new was said, but Donald Trump, on his social media just before the Fed Chair’s speech, wrote that now would be a great time to cut rates—once again hinting that it should happen at the upcoming Fed meeting in May.
Trump claims that now is a great time to become rich—richer than ever before.