Comments from Powell
- Strong economy benefitting many Americans
- We have seen some developments that suggests some softening
- Financial market volatility has increased
- Inflation is ending the year more subdued than expected
- Changes have not fundamentally altered outlook
- Projections show modestly lower path for Fed funds rate
- Lower rate path in dot plot should support economy
- Most of my colleagues continue to expect economy to perform well in the coming year
- Economy may not be as kind to Fed forecasts in 2019 as in recent years
- Dots still show 'significant' group still sees 3 hikes in 2019
- Median forecast is not a consensus judgement
He doesn't sound like someone who is about to hit the pause button. He emphasized that the Fed isn't married to its forecasts and will adjust to data, which is uncertain.
