an1candycrush| Powell: I don't know how long it will take to cut interest rates, but it's unlikely that the next step will be to raise interest rates

Financial Associated Press, May 2 (editor Niu Zhanlin) Wednesday, US Eastern timeAn1candycrushThe Federal Reserve announced that it would continue to maintain the target range of the federal funds rate at 5.An1candycrushBetween .25% and 5.50%, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell subsequently held a press conference as scheduled.

Powell pointed out that inflation is still too high and further progress is uncertain, but the Fed has made considerable progress in the economy and remains committed to its target of returning inflation to 2%.

He said inflation shows a lack of progress and continues to pay close attention to inflation risks, but despite rising short-term inflation expectations, there is no problem with long-term anchoring. Although interest rates remain high, consumer spending has been strong.

Powell stressed once again that there are risks in policy reduction too early, too much, too late or too little. "reducing policy restrictions too late or too little may unduly weaken the economy and the job market, and cutting interest rates too early is not conducive to keeping inflation down."

When talking about the risk of inflation, he did not mention the possibility of raising interest rates, saying only that the policy would remain unchanged if necessary.

In terms of contraction, Powell said that we will continue to reduce our holdings of securities "significantly" and that slowing the pace of quantitative tightening (QT) does not mean that our balance sheet will shrink more slowly than expected.

In a question-and-answer session, when asked whether interest rates are currently limited enough, Powell replied that there is evidence that it is indeed restrictive and puts pressure on demand.

Over time, the current level of interest rates will prove sufficiently restrictive, he added. This suggests that Fed officials did not consider raising interest rates further, pushing US stocks higher, with the Nasdaq rising more than 1.5 per cent at one point.