Comments from Jerome Powell in the first day of his testimony:
- Economic momentum has slowed substantially after summer rebound
- Repeats promise to keep rates near zero until full employment and inflation rises to 2% and is on track to moderate exceed 2% for some time
- Says will not tighten monetary policy solely in response to a strong labor market
- Fed will clearly communicate 'well in advance' of any change to bond buying pace
- It will likely take some time for substantial further progress to be achieved
- Economy is a long way from employment and inflation goals
"We are committed to using our full range of tools to support the economy and to help ensure that the recovery from this difficult period will be as robust as possible," he said.
The Q&A will begin shortly.
There's nothing new here but yields are starting to move higher again with US 30s now up 4 bps to 2.21%. The ability of yields to rise even with stock markets down big is worrisome.
