Fed's Powell: Disinflation still not evident in all sectors
United States Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell remarked on Tuesday that despite the fact inflation in the country has somewhat eased recently, disinflation is still not visible in all the economic sectors, most notably the non-housing one.
Speaking at a discussion held at the Economic Club of Washington DC, Powell noted that the nation is in "very early stages of disinflation" and that the road of going back to the target is "not going to be smooth ... it's probably going to be bumpy."
Commenting on the "very strong" labor market report for January, Powell said the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) "didn't expect it to be this strong" before deciding to raise the key interest rate by 25 basis points. Still, he stressed he believes additional hikes will be appropriate to bring inflation down as the monetary policy is still not at a level "sufficiently restrictive."