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cailianshe news, september 19 (editor: niu zhanlin)in the early morning of thursday (september 19th) beijing time, after the federal reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points to start a new round of monetary easing cycle, federal reserve chairman powell subsequently held a monetary policy press conference as scheduled.

powell first said that policymakers are fully focused on the dual tasks of inflation and employment, and the fed is now increasingly confident that the strong momentum of the job market can be maintained while adjusting the policy interest rate. powell means that this policy move is to ensure the economy achieves a so-called soft landing.

on the economic front, powell noted that economic activity continued to expand at a "solid pace" and expected the second half of the year to grow at a similar pace as the first half. "the u.s. economy is in good shape, and our decision today is designed to keep it that way."

at the end of the press conference, he made it clear that there are currently no signs of a recession in the u.s. economy, nor does he believe that a recession is imminent.

on inflation, powell said that the inflation level is closer to the target, the upside risks to inflation have weakened, while the downside risks to the labor market have increased.

he stopped short of declaring the fed had defeated inflation but expressed confidence that it would fall to its 2% target. he added: “while people may not think about inflation as much as they once did, they certainly may notice higher prices, which is painful.”

the first question powell received at the press conference was what information led the fomc to choose a larger rate cut, and powell mentioned the beige book report.

when asked about the fed's next move, powell emphasized that based on the balance of risks, the interest rate will be lowered by 50 basis points today, but no fixed interest rate path has been set and decisions will be made at each meeting.

as usual, powell reiterated that the next move depends on economic data. "more data, as always, don't look at anything else, the extent of the rate cut depends only on the data."

powell stressed that no one should think that a 50 basis point rate cut is a new trend, and no one should draw such a conclusion based solely on this rate cut. in other words, don't bet on a 50 basis point rate cut next time.

he said that federal reserve officials widely supported today's decision. although governor bowman cast a dissenting vote (advocating a 25 basis point rate cut), there was more consensus among fomc members.

in terms of employment, powell claimed that the labor market is in good condition and hopes to maintain this state; but if the labor market slows down unexpectedly, the fed will accelerate the pace of interest rate cuts.

powell believes that the current unemployment rate of 4.2% is very healthy. the higher unemployment rate is partly due to the influx of immigrants, and the higher unemployment rate is also due to the slowdown in hiring.

regarding the neutral interest rate, powell said he did not know the specific level, but it should be much higher than in the past (before the epidemic).

when asked about the balance sheet, powell said reserves were stable and ample, expected to remain so for some time, and there were no plans to stop shrinking the balance sheet in the near future.

when asked about the election, powell, as expected, chose to avoid the question. he said that the fed's decisions are based on serving the american people, and are never about politics or anything else. no other filtering conditions are set when making decisions.

when asked how market expectations influence the fed's decisions, his response was simple: "policymakers do what we think is right for the economy at the time, and that's what we're doing today."

during powell's speech, global asset prices fluctuated sharply. spot gold rose in the short term and then plunged sharply, falling by 1.7%. u.s. stocks also showed an overall downward trend.