Fed's Powell begins press conference..
- Uncertainties remain including those posed by virus
- Wages rising, particularly for lower paying jobs
- Employment gains broad-based across different groups
- Wants strong job market to reach more people left behind
- Expects inflation to move closer to 2% over the next few months
- Policy is not a preset course
- Fed is determined to avoid inflation persistently running below 2%
- IOER hike represents a small technical adjustment
- Policy is appropriate as long as data consistent with outlook
- Over the 1st half of this year, Fed plans to adjust size of repo operations
- Fed expects to continue offering repo support through April
- Plans to slow pace of purchases over time
- Balance sheet will be expanding gradually over time
- Technical measures are designed to support smooth functioning of the markets
The markets at start of press conference:
- EURUSD 1.1006
- USDJPY 109.20
- GBPUSD 1.3021
- USDCHF 0.9743
- USDCAD 1.3199
- AUDUSD 016750
- NZDUSD 0.6527
US stocks:
- S&P index 3289.20
- NASDAQ index 9315.71
- Dow 28869.15
US interest rates:
- 2 year 1.438%, -2.3 basis points
- 10 year 1.6028%, -5.3 basis points
- 30 year 2.056%, -5.5 basis points
