Sintra, Portugal, July 2, 2024 (Lusa) - The chairman of the Federal Reserve (Fed), Jerome Powell, said in Sintra on Tuesday that the institution wants to be more confident "before beginning the process of easing monetary policy" and going ahead with interest rate cuts.

"We've made progress in getting inflation to target, we want the process to continue and the latest data suggests that we're getting back on the path to disinflation," the Fed chairman added.

However, the US central bank wants to "be more confident before beginning the process of easing monetary policy": "we would like to see more data and a strong labour market," Powell reiterated.

Unlike the European Central Bank (ECB), which cut interest rates for the first time in June, the Fed has not yet moved towards a cut in key rates.

Powell signalled that he would not commit to any specific date for the interest rate cut just yet, but acknowledged that he was aware that "if you do it too soon you can undo the work done so far, but if you do it too late there are also risks", namely of losing the economic expansion.

"We have to balance the two risks and given the strength we see in the economy, we can approach this issue with caution," said the Federal Reserve chairman.

MES/ADB // ADB.

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