Fed Chair Powell Testimony to Congress

Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s opening statement for his congressional testimony today offers few clues about the potential timing of interest rate cuts, with the key line that the Fed is still looking for “more good data” to strengthen its confidence that inflation will return to target. That said, the neutral tone of the opening statement seems at odds with the softer tone of the recent activity data, so our sense is that a September interest rate cut remains very much in play.