Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday it remains unclear whether the ongoing government shutdown and the resulting lack of key economic data will affect the central bank’s December meeting.
With key indicators still missing due to the shutdown, Powell said the Fed will proceed carefully until it has a clearer view of the economy.
“If you’re driving in the fog, you slow down,” he said at the conclusion of the two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The FOMC’s next policy meeting is scheduled for Dec. 9–10.
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Powell added that even without complete data, the central bank must continue its work.
“We’re going to have to do our jobs one way or the other,” Powell told reporters at the Federal Reserve. “I hope by the time of the December meeting, we’re getting a better flow of data,” he added.
He described the government shutdown, now in its fifth week, as a “temporary state of affairs.”
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“We’re going to collect every scrap of data we can find, evaluate it, and think carefully about it. That’s our job, and that’s what we’re going to do,” he said.
The Fed announced its second interest rate cut of the year, signaling continued efforts to support the labor market even as inflation remains above its target.
“Although official employment data for September are delayed, available evidence suggests that both layoffs and hiring remain low, and that both households’ perceptions of job availability and firms’ perceptions of hiring difficulty continue to decline,” Powell said.
“We’re not going to have the same detailed feel for the economy,” he added. “But if there were a significant or material change, I think we’d pick that up.”
FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.
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