Powell: "Job Progress Still Far" ... Drawing a Line on Monetary Policy Change (Update)

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[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Jerome Powell, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), stated that progress toward changes in monetary policy, such as interest rate hikes and asset purchase tapering, is still far off. Supported by this, the S&P 500 index has returned to an upward trend.

At a press conference following the Fed's statement release on the 28th (local time), Chairman Powell emphasized that "progress toward maximum employment is still far off," indicating no intention to adjust monetary policy prematurely.

The Fed statement released that day said, "Significant progress has been made toward economic goals and will be assessed at upcoming meetings." U.S. media evaluated this as a signal toward tapering asset purchases, which currently amount to $12 billion per month.

However, Chairman Powell stressed, "There is still a considerable distance to achieving the Fed's goals of inflation stabilization and maximum employment." He particularly noted, "I want to see strong job numbers," highlighting attention to the recent stagnation in employment recovery.

The S&P 500 index briefly declined after the Fed statement release but returned to an upward trend following Chairman Powell's remarks. As of 3 p.m., the S&P 500 index was up 0.16%. The Nasdaq index expanded its gains to 0.7%.

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