IMF: US grows at fastest pace since 1984 0:54
New York (CNN Business) -
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the US economy is at a "tipping point," and growth and job creation are about to accelerate.
Powell made these comments during an interview on CBS News's "60 Minutes."
In the interview, Powell offered a more optimistic economic outlook, in contrast to previous comments on the recovery of the US economy.
"What we are seeing now is an economy that appears to be very much at a tipping point," Powell told "60 Minutes" during the interview.
“And that is due to widespread vaccination and strong fiscal support, strong support for monetary policy.
We have the feeling that we are at a point where the economy is about to start growing much faster and job creation occurs much faster.
The outlook has improved substantially. '
But that's only if there isn't another wave of covid-19.
“The main risk for our economy at the moment is that the disease will spread again.
The smartest thing will be for people to keep distancing themselves physically and wearing masks, "he told" 60 minutes. "
According to CDC data, more than 183 million vaccines have been administered in the United States.
This statement comes after the minutes published by the central bank last week stressed that it will take some time "until there are substantial new advances" in employment and inflation.
The Fed cut interest rates to zero in March 2020 and said it hopes to keep them at historically low levels until 2023.
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“We did not know how the economy would behave.
We did not know how the disease would progress, "Powell said in the" 60 minutes "interview.
"We had no idea when and how long it would take to get a vaccine."
When asked if he expected the current downturn in the US economy to look anything like the 2008 financial crisis, Powell said the chances are "very low."
Instead, Powell cited "cyber risk" as the primary concern, citing examples of large companies losing the ability to track the payments they make.
“We spend a lot of time, energy and money protecting ourselves against these things.
Now there are cyberattacks every day in all major institutions, "he told" 60 Minutes. "
"That's a big part of the threat landscape in the world today."
Last month, Powell said that any increase in inflation during the summer months would be temporary and not concerning for his monetary policy at this time.
During his 60 Minutes interview, Powell reiterated that past business cycles showed that inflation did not rise much as unemployment fell.
"That means we can afford to wait for real inflation to appear before raising interest rates," he said.
Powell added that the Fed wants inflation to be above 2% "sustainably" before deciding to raise interest rates.
"We can wait for real inflation to happen, and that's what we plan to do," Powell said in the interview.
US Economy United States Federal Reserve interest rates