The head of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, presented to Congress a report on monetary policy in the first half of the year. In his speech, he noted the risks that may have a negative impact on the GDP dynamics of the country. The most important among them is the slowdown in global economic growth and the persistence of uncertainty in trade relations. However, Jerome Powell expressed the hope that the country’s economy would grow steadily. He noted that the American labor market remains strong. As far as inflation is concerned, its growth is likely to remain moderate.Jerome Powell also noted Reduced capital investment by American companies. In his opinion, the reason the negative trend was the trade disputes between the United States and its trading partners. Jerome Powell stressed that the Fed needs to maintain its independence. He said he wouldn’t leave his post even if Donald Trump asked him to do it.After the release of the report Powell’s assessment of traders’ probability of interest rate reduction in July the Federal Reserve Board meeting rose to 100 percent. What’s more, they expect that until the end this year’s rate will be reduced 3 times.
