No recession in US economy anytime soon, says Fed chief
Jay Powell, the head of the Federal Reserve, says he does not see a recession hitting the U.S. economy anytime soon.
“The outlook for our economy, in my view, is a favorable one,” Powell said Sunday in an interview with CBS’s Scott Pelley for “60 Minutes."
‘It's a positive one. I think growth this year will be slower than last year. Last year was the highest growth that we've experienced since the financial crisis, really in more than 10 years. This year, I expect that growth will continue to be positive and continue to be at a healthy rate.”
Powell said that the economy was in a good place right now and was asked if the central bank was done raising interest rates.
"Inflation is muted and our policy rate we think is in an appropriate place. So what we've said is that we would be patient as we watch to see how global economic conditions evolve and how our own economy evolves."
During the Fed's period of raising interest rates, President Trump criticized Powell and the central bank for making moves that would slow the economy. Powell said the pause in hikes has nothing to do with the president's comments.
"We will never, ever take political considerations into effect," said Powell. "This is a strong institution, which has a strong culture, which is as I've described it."
Powell said that he doesn't comment on the president or elected officials and when asked if the president could fire him, he said the law is clear.
"I have a four-year term and I fully intend to serve it," said Powell.
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Powell was asked about the impact that slowing growth in China is having and how concerned he is about it.
"If it slows down the global economy, then we'll feel that as a headwind," said Powell. "So, we don't actually believe that very negative outcomes are the most likely outcomes there. The Chinese authorities have been deploying many measures to support growth in China."
This past weekend was the 10th anniversary of the bull market that has seen stocks soar since the financial crisis.