Powell, Chair of the US Federal Reserve, Says "US Seems to Have Entered a Recession"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Jerome Powell, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), said on the 26th (local time) regarding the economic shock caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), "The U.S. is probably already in a recession."

In an interview with NBC News' "Today Show" on the same day, Chairman Powell said this and added, "The Fed will make strong efforts to prevent a credit crunch caused by COVID-19."

Experts define a recession as a phenomenon where the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declines for two or more consecutive quarters. Chairman Powell's remarks on this day are interpreted as indicating that the U.S. economy is passing through a specific part of that period, which will be judged later.

Earlier, the Fed cut interest rates twice this month alone, approaching nearly "zero interest rates," and supplied trillions of dollars to stimulate the economy.

Chairman Powell said, "We will continue to take aggressive and decisive actions as we are doing now," and "There will be no shortage of ammunition (monetary policy tools for economic stimulus)." He added, "There are no problems with the fundamentals of our economy; rather, the opposite."

He said, "The Fed is playing a role in bridging so that loans can be made where funds are not properly supplied," and "Although I am not an epidemic expert, the faster the virus is controlled, the sooner people will be willing to resume business and return to the workplace."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.