Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the economy still appears to be in stable shape, despite the lack of updated data due to the ongoing government shutdown.
“Based on the data that we do have, it is fair to say that the outlook for employment and inflation does not appear to have changed much since our September meeting four weeks ago,” Powell said in remarks to economists Tuesday. However, he added in response to a question about the shutdown: “We’ll start to miss that data, particularly the October data, if this goes on for a while.”
On the economy, Powell reiterated themes from recent comments, saying “there is no risk-free path for policy as we navigate the tension between our employment and inflation goals.” Powell also said that the Fed may also reach a point in the coming months where it could end efforts to shrink its balance sheet.
