Fed in No Hurry to Adjust Rates Amid Trump Policy Uncertainty

Jerome H. Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, said the central bank is focused on the “net effect” of President Trump’s sweeping economic agenda amid high uncertainty about which policies will actually be enacted, as he reiterated that officials are still not in a “hurry” to adjust interest rates.

“As we parse the incoming information, we are focused on separating the signal from the noise as the outlook evolves,” Mr. Powell said at an event on Friday. “We do not need to be in a hurry, and are well positioned to wait for greater clarity.”

If inflation stays sticky but the economy remains strong, the Fed chair said the central bank can “maintain policy restraint for longer.” But if either the labor market were to weaken more than expected, or inflation were to rapidly decline, Mr. Powell said officials can “ease policy accordingly.”

His comments underscore the delicate balancing act that Fed is trying to navigate at a tenuous moment for the economy.

Speaking at the same event earlier on Friday, Michelle Bowman, a Fed governor, said that as inflation returns to the central bank’s 2 percent target, the labor market and economic activity “will become a larger factor” in policy discussions.

The Fed is expected to hold interest rates steady at 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent when officials gather March 18-19, extending a pause that has been in place since January. But its decisions after that point may get more fraught, especially if the economy weakens and price pressures rise to the extent that economists fear.