Jerome Powell’s performance. Interest rates will rise.

The chairman of the Fed Reserve, Jerome Powell, gave a detailed interview to PBS, which aroused interest among investors. He said that interest rates had not yet reached a neutral level. Markets took this statement as a signal that the Fed’s key interest rate will continue to rise in the near term. Powell noted that the application of low rates was necessary when the American economy was weak. Now the situation has changed.

Not one member of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee is in agreement on a neutral rate. Its average size is determined at about 3 percent. However, according to the forecast, the Fed will raise the rate to 3.4 percent, after which the tightening of monetary policy will be stopped.

In his speech, Jerome Powell also said that so far trade conflicts have not seriously affected the U.S. economic performance. However, business is increasingly dissatisfied with the emergence of trade barriers due to rising tensions.

Jerome Powell does not rule out a new global financial crisis, but it will not be the same as in 2008. In his opinion, it could be a cyber attack, or a global event.