Platinum/CHF

Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Warren, and other members of the Committee, I appreciate the opportunity to present the Federal Reserve's semiannual Monetary Policy Report. The Federal Reserve remains squarely focused on achieving its dual-mandate goals of maximum employment and stable prices for the benefit of the American people. The economy is strong overall and has made significant progress toward our goals over the past two years. Labor market conditions have cooled from their formerly overheated state and remain solid. Inflation has moved much closer to our 2 percent longer-run goal, though it remains somewhat elevated. We are attentive to the risks on both sides of our mandate. I will review the current economic situation before turning to monetary policy. Current Economic Situation and Outlook Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace. Gross domestic product rose 2.5 percent in 2024, bolstered by resilient consumer spending. Investment in equipment and intangibles appears to have declined in the fourth quarter but was solid for the year overall. Following weakness in the middle of last year, activity in the housing sector seems to have stabilized. In the labor market, conditions remain solid and appear to have stabilized. Payroll job gains averaged 189,000 per month over the past four months. Following earlier increases, the unemployment rate has been steady since the middle of last year and, at 4 percent in January, remains low. Nominal wage growth has eased over the past year, and the jobs-to-workers gap has narrowed. Overall, a wide set of indicators suggests that conditions in the labor market are broadly in balance. The labor market is not a source of significant inflationary pressures. The strong labor market conditions in recent years have helped narrow long-standing disparities in employment and earnings across demographic groups.1 Inflation has eased significantly over the past two years but remains somewhat elevated relative to our 2 percent longer-run goal. Total personal consumpti post: FED CHAIR POWELL: WE DO NOT NEED TO BE IN A HURRY TO ADJUST POLICY post: POWELL: CAN MAINTAIN POLICY RESTRAINT FOR LONGER IF ECONOMY REMAINS STRONG AND INFLATION DOES NOT MOVE TOWARD 2% post: No meaningful change from Jay Powell in his testimony: Inflation has eased significantly but remains somewhat elevated. The labor market appears to have stabilized. The Fed is on hold. It will stay there until inflation improves or the labor market weakens unexpectedly.