US Fed’s Jerome Powell Speech: Strongly Committed To Bring Down Inflation

Crypto Market News: US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday said the central bank is keen on bringing the inflation rate down to the 2% target. He said that almost all policymakers view the need for some rate hikes later in the year. He had delivered the remarks in a press conference following the decision to pause interest rate hike. Earlier, the Fed officials felt it was appropriate to keep the interest rate unchanged at the current range of 5-5.25%, while it signaled that rate hikes may be possible later in the rest of 2023.

Meanwhile, the Bitcoin price showed slightly negative reaction to the central bank’s stance although it is possible that the dip is precursor to a market rally.

Also Read: What In Fed Chair Jerome Powell Speech Could Spur Bitcoin Price Rally?

Powell said inflation had ‘somewhat’ moderated but admitted that high inflation pressures means getting inflation back to the 2% target has a long way to go. At the end of 2023, the US Federal Reserve officials see inflation at 3.2% and 2.5% by the end of 2024, compared to the central bank’s target of keeping the inflation rate down at 2%. Whereas the officials see core inflation at the end of 2023 and 2.6% at the end of 2024.

“Additional Rate Hikes Possible”

The Fed officials warned that the central bank may not yet be done with raising interest rates, despite cooling inflation and the current pauses. This would add to the uncertainty in the market until the end of 2023, potentially benefiting Bitcoin, as investors might prefer risky assets in the crypto market. Interestingly, a majority of Fed officials forecast interest rate cuts in 2024. He clarified that the Fed did not take any decision on rate hikes in July 2023, , saying that the central bank will continue to make decisions meeting by meeting.

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