Federal Reserve Chairman Powell: The surge in immigration has made the economy bigger, so let's wait and see if we can cut interest rates!

Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Powell poured cold water on market expectations of another interest rate cut in 2024, declaring that the U.S. economic situation is good and there is no rush to cut interest rates.

Reuters, CNBC and other foreign media reported that on November 14, Powell gave a speech to business leaders in Dallas, pointing out that the US economy is growing strongly and there is no sign that the central bank needs to cut interest rates in a hurry. "Given that the economy remains strong, this allows us to make decisions carefully."

Powell also gave an optimistic assessment of the current situation, saying that US economic growth "is by far the best in the world."

Powell confirmed that he and his colleagues still believe that inflation is continuing to fall back toward the Fed's 2% target, which allows the Fed to adjust monetary policy to a relatively neutral level after a period of time without hindering economic growth.

Powell did not offer a clear answer to questions about how President-elect Donald Trump’s tariffs and immigration cuts might affect the path of inflation, saying only: “We can do the math. If there’s less labor, then there’s less work getting done.” He then added: “That gets me into the political stuff that I try to avoid.”