Fed chair: Omicron adds economic risks

Emerging threat: A worker stacks bins at an Amazon fulfillment centre in New Jersey. Powell says the emergence of the Omicron variant poses downside risks to employment. — Bloomberg

NEW YORK: Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Jerome Powell, in his first public remarks on the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, says it poses risks to both sides of the central bank’s mandate to achieve stable prices and maximum employment.

“The recent rise in Covid-19 cases and the emergence of the Omicron variant pose downside risks to employment and economic activity and increased uncertainty for inflation,” Powell said in prepared testimony released Monday, a day ahead of his appearance before the Senate Banking Committee.