Powell speech: Premature to make any conclusion on impact of tariffs

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell explains the decision to cut the policy rate, federal funds rate, by 25 basis points to the range of 4.25%-4.5% after the December meeting and responds to questions in the post-meeting press conference.

Key quotes

"Committee is discussing ways in which tariffs can drive inflation, we've done a good bit of work on that."

"That puts us in place to make a careful assessment of appropriate policy response to tariffs."

"There are many factors for how much tariffs will even go into consumer inflation."

"Premature to make any conclusion on impact of tariffs, don't know what countries, what size, how long."

"Don't know that 2018 is much of a guide to what will happen this time."

"We are at the stage of thinking through questions, not getting to definitive answers for some time."

"Core inflation coming down to 2.5% next year, as in projections, would be significant progress."

"We also have to think about the labor market, mindful it is gradually cooling."

"We expect significant policy changes, we need to see what they are and the effects to get a clearer picture."

"We will be looking for further progress on inflation to make those cuts."