When Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell strode into Congress this week to give evidence on US monetary policy, his extremely dovish tone changed the terms of the debate about what the central bank will do next.
Most investors stopped wondering whether precautionary “insurance cuts” in rates will be announced in July and September. That is now seen as highly likely. The new focus is on whether the Fed might embark on a more fundamental change in policy rates and the monetary policy framework. The ground could be shifting at the Federal Open Market Committee.
The publication on July 5 of the Fed’s biannual monetary policy report is a good opportunity to analyse the views of the Fed’s economic staff on the central bank’s strategy.