Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell took credit for the strength of the economy Wednesday, attributing low unemployment and strong growth to the central bank’s policies, at least in part.
“I’m very happy about the state of the economy now,” Powell said in an appearance at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, citing low unemployment, strong economic growth, and stable inflation.
“Our policy is part of the reason the economy’s in such a good place right now,” he said, adding that there’s “pretty good reason” to think that the economy will remain strong.
President Trump, in contrast, has criticized the Fed and Powell, saying that the central bank’s repeated rate hikes this year have slowed commerce and undercut his trade agenda.
Powell, though, said that it was necessary to raise interest rates as the economy improves to prevent inflation from rising and to stop financial bubbles from forming.
“We have to take both of those risks very seriously,” he said.
