Mary Daly, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, speaks during a Bloomberg Television interview in San Francisco, California, US, on Thursday, Aug. The Commerce Department releases June figures on Friday. Meanwhile, the core measure inched down to 4.6% from 4.7% during the same period, which was still its lowest level since October 2021. The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge - the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index - rose 3.8% in May from a year earlier, down from the prior month’s 4.3%. The S&P 500 closed flat and the Nasdaq Composite dipped slightly. Stocks closed on a mixed note after Powell’s speech, but the Dow notched its 13th straight day of gains, its longest daily win streak since 1987. “Data dependence remains the buzz word and, given the confusing signals of waning inflation but a tight labor market, keeping all options on the table seems to be a sensible approach,” wrote Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, in an analyst note. He also said that core inflation remains “pretty elevated.” “At the margins, stronger growth could lead over time to higher inflation and that would require an appropriate response for monetary policy,” Powell said. In a news conference following the decision, Fed Chair Jerome Powell underscored that another rate hike remains an option - if the economy were to pick up strength and keep upward pressure on prices. Inflation’s steady slowdown in recent months has been encouraging for American consumers and businesses, but officials reiterated in their post-meeting statement that “inflation remains elevated” and that the Fed “remains highly attentive to inflation risks,” suggesting that another rate hike remains on the table. Here's what happened nextįed officials are estimating one more rate hike this year, according to their latest set of projections. The Federal kept the target range of the federal funds rate unchanged at 5 percent to 5.25 percent, following a slew of 10 consecutive hikes since March 2022. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell attends a press conference in Washington, D.C., the United States, on June 14, 2023.

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