📣 Fed Chair Jerome Powell: key takeaways
• Inflation remains elevated, partly driven by rising energy prices.
• Higher energy costs are likely to push inflation up in the short term and may not have peaked yet.
• Labor demand has clearly cooled, while unemployment remains broadly stable.
• Inside the Fed, more officials now support moving toward a neutral policy stance, with rate hikes seen as just as possible as rate cuts.
• While policymakers kept the statement unchanged for now, the outlook could shift significantly over the next 30–60 days.
• The Fed may drop signals of potential easing as soon as the next meeting.
Powell also noted this was his final press conference as Fed Chair, though he plans to remain on the Federal Reserve Board after May 15.