Fed’s Powell Says ‘No Rush’ to Hike Rates in ‘Solid’ but Slowing Economy

U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell waits to testify at a Senate Banking and Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on "The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 26, 2019. Jim Young/Reuters

WASHINGTON—The Federal Reserve is in “no rush to make a judgment” about further changes to interest rates, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers on Feb. 26.

In two hours of testimony to the Senate Banking Committee, Powell elaborated on the “conflicting signals” the Fed has tried to decipher in recent weeks, including disappointing data on retail sales and other aspects of the economy that contrast with steady hiring, wage growth, and ongoing low unemployment.