On the 14th, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Powell reiterated that the Fed will set policy on a meeting-by-meeting basis, depending on the evolution of the economic outlook and risk balance, rather than following a pre-determined path.
He said in a speech at the National Association for Business Economics annual meeting in Philadelphia that day that because of the need to balance the contradictions between employment and inflation goals, there is no risk-free path for the Fed's interest rate policy.
Regarding the lack of official data reports caused by the federal government 'shutdown', Powell stated that the Fed has its own contacts and data sources to monitor the health of the U.S. economy.
He said: "Based on the data we have, it is fair to say that since the September meeting, the employment and inflation outlook does not seem to have changed much."
The Fed's policy-making body, the Federal Open Market Committee, will hold its next meeting from October 28 to 29. The market generally expects that, given the ongoing weakness in the U.S. job market, after announcing a 25-basis-point rate cut on September 17, the Fed will cut rates by another 25 basis points.