Fed Chair Powell Says Summer Inflation Data Not Yet Confirming Sustained Improvement

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on August 28 that although summer inflation indicators were better than expected, it remains difficult to confirm that the underlying trend of inflation has meaningfully improved. Powell noted that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) needs further confirmation before being confident that prices are moving toward target at a sufficiently rapid pace. Speaking at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, Powell emphasized that 'we need to have confidence that core inflation is clearly and sufficiently moving toward our goal.' He cited the 12-month increase in the Fed's preferred personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index at 3.7% and the six-month annualized rate at 4.1%, both exceeding the Fed's 2% target.