Cutting interest rates ‘too late or too little’ could hit jobs, Fed chair warns

Jerome Powell also struck a note of optimism on price growth. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

Holding interest rates too high for too long would threaten economic growth and jobs, the US Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, warned Congress on Tuesday. “Elevated inflation is not the only risk we face,” said Powell.

During a congressional hearing, Powell signaled that while suppressing inflation remains a priority, policymakers at the Fed are now concentrating on when they choose to cut rates.