Opening comments from the FOMC chairman
- The summer surge from covid has held back the recovery in some sectors
- Activity has been restrained by bottlenecks, notably in autos
- Slowdown in Q3 was centered in areas hit by pandemic
- 4.8% unemployment understates softness in joblessness due to low workforce participation
- We expect economy will adjust to supply and demand imbalances but it is difficult to predict
- Timing of when global supply chain recovers is 'highly uncertain'
- If we were to see signs that the path of inflation was going to persistently above our goal, we would take action
- If the economy develops largely as expected, we will continued $15B/month taper, which would be complete in the middle of 2022
- We have a different and more rigorous test for hiking
"We understand the difficulties that high inflation poses for individuals and families, particularly those with limited means to absorb higher prices for essentials such as food and transportation," Powell said but noted that they could fix supply chain issues.
Overall, these comments offer little new.
