Fed Chair Powell Blames Tariffs for No Rate Cuts

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that the Fed would likely have eased monetary policy by now if it weren’t for President Trump’s tariff plan.

Transcript

00:00Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed would likely have eased interest rates by now if

00:05it weren't for President Trump's tariff plan. Powell explained that when tariffs were announced,

00:10inflation forecasts went up materially, leading the Fed to hold steady rather than reduce the

00:15cost of borrowing. Powell emphasized that future decisions will be data-dependent and made meeting

00:22by meeting, not bound to any specific date. Markets are now pricing in a greater than 76%

00:28chance of no move at July's meeting, though the Fed's dot plot indicates up to two cuts by the end of the year.