Powell waves off recession fear while leaving rate cuts on table

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney chat during the three-day "Challenges for Monetary Policy" conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, U.S. - Reuters

WASHINGTON: Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell pushed back against perceptions that the US economy was tilting into a recession, while leaving the door open to further interest-rate cuts to keep the country’s record economic expansion on track.

Speaking Friday in Zurich, Powell said consumer spending and support from monetary policy should help deliver economic growth between 2% and 2.5% this year.