Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said officials can be patient on raising interest rates -- after announcing a start to reducing their bond purchases -- but won’t flinch from action if warranted by inflation.
“We think we can be patient. If a response is called for, we will not hesitate,” he told a news conference Wednesday after the Federal Open Market Committee said it would scale back by US$15 billion a month starting in November.
But Powell stressed that the tapering doesn’t mean policy makers will hike rates any time soon, emphasizing the desire to not hinder potential job gains ahead.
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