Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Friday that he expects strong economic momentum from 2018 to carry into 2019 but that he remains unconcerned about inflation increasing.
An increase in wages reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics earlier Friday morning, “for me at this time does not raise concerns about too high inflation,” Powell said at a conference in Atlanta.
President Trump has criticized the Fed for raising its interest rate target, its most powerful tool for attempting to keep the economy stable. Inflation remains low, but interest rates are also low, by historical norms, following years of hovering near zero after the 2008 global financial crisis.
Powell again signaled that after raising rates four times in 2018 to return those rates closer to normal, the Fed will likely slow or pause raising rates in 2019.
“We will be patient as we watch to see how the economy evolves,” said Powell. “We will be prepared to adjust policy quickly and flexibly,” he added, noting that the Fed paused planned rate hikes in 2016 due to a weaker than expected economy at the time.
[Related: Fed chairman says he would not resign if Trump asked him to]
Though the central bank chairman said he continues to see a strong economy, Powell did say a recent private sector report showing a sharp slowdown in manufacturing is worth watching but not necessarily a cause for concern.
The Institute for Supply Management’s monthly manufacturing index of December showed the lowest activity since Trump’s election.
The index “came in well below expectations,” Powell said, but he noted that manufacturing “was at historically high levels before” and that current activity is “now at a level which is consistent with ongoing moderate growth.”
[Also read: US payrolls shatter expectations, surge 312,000 in December]
