Very premature to think about pausing rate hikes - Powell

EPA-EFE/JIM LO SCALZO

United States Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell emphasized on Wednesday that it is "very premature" to think about pausing interest rate hikes.

Monetary policy works with long and variable lags, but there is not a lot of data to determine the exact details of the delayed effects on inflation, he told reporters. The Fed is careful about lags in policy transmission from a risk management standpoint to not make the mistake of either overtightening or undertightening the monetary policy, according to Powell.

The Fed chair noted that, unlike in the past, financial conditions react ahead of monetary policy, making the overall economic situation "highly uncertain."

Baha Breaking News (BBN) / MS