Federal Reserve’s Powell: Inflation Battle Not Yet Close to Finished

Restrictive monetary policy will likely be required for some time, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a long-awaited speech at the central bank’s annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

“Restoring price stability will take some time and requires using our tools forcefully to bring demand and supply into better balance,” Powell said.

Bitcoin BTC$68,470.69 was little changed after the Fed chair's speech, suggesting that Powell’s rather hawkish comments were largely already priced into markets.

"We expect a 75 basis point rate hike in September, and do not expect there to be a drastic effect on the markets should that come to pass, followed by successive rate hikes until inflation is reined in and the unemployment rate returns to a healthier number," Josh Olszewicz, head of research at digital asset fund manager Valkyrie Investments, wrote in an email.

For the first time in the history of this Fed annual meeting, the speech was livestreamed because investors around the globe were eagerly awaiting guidance from central bankers about where they believe inflation is headed.

Read more: Wounded Crypto Traders Desperate for Clues From Fed’s Big Meeting This Week

Handing a fig leaf to the doves, Powell did say that a slower pace of rate increases will become “appropriate” at some point. As for September’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting and whether policymakers will tighten by another 50 or 75 basis points, Powell said the decision will “depend on the totality of the incoming data and the evolving outlook.”