Fed Chair Powell Cautions Against Premature Rate Cuts Amid Inflation Worries, While ECB and BOE Move to Ease Policy

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled Wednesday that the central bank is not preparing to cut interest rates pre-emptively in response to economic risks from Trump’s tariffs, according to The Wall Street Journal. He emphasized a wait-and-see approach amid lingering inflation concerns. Fed officials are reluctant to cut rates early due to concerns that it could reignite inflation after a recent period of high price increases. The Fed held its benchmark rate steady at around 4.3%, even as the European Central Bank has cut rates seven times in the past year, and the Bank of England is poised to ease further. The policy divergence stems from other economies avoiding tariff-driven price hikes, allowing them to ease rates without the inflation concerns facing the Fed.