Fed chair snuffs out rate cut optimism

Cautious view: Powell speaks during a press conference on interest rate policy in Washington. Analysts believe the Fed will prioritise stabilising US growth over inflation if a significant rise in unemployment and inflation is still running above target. — Reuters

NEW YORK: Bond investors are coming to terms with Jerome Powell’s message that the Federal Reserve (Fed) is in no rush to start cutting interest rates.

After Powell reiterated the central bank’s wait-and-see approach to easing monetary policy last week, traders aggressively boosted bets that the benchmark lending rate will be cut by less than a three-quarter point in 2025, with the first move starting only in July.