Powell: Gradual labor market cooling justified rate cut today

*POWELL: LABOR MARKET SEEMS TO HAVE SIGNIFICANT DOWNSIDE RISKS POWELL: IF YOU GET AWAY FROM TARIFFS INFLATION IS IN THE LOW 2S POWELL: TARIFFS ARE LIKELY TO BE ONE-TIME PRICE INCREASES Fed's Powell: If we didn't have to worry about the labour market, the policy rate would be higher Fed's Powell: labour supply has also come down sharply.

Fed's powell: It is a less likely possibility that the labour market gets tight and boosts inflation; not particularly likely. Fed's Powell, when asked if we are seeing a positive productivity shock: Yes.

POWELL: EFFECTS OF RATE CUTS SO FAR ONLY BEGINING TO BE COMING IN Fed's Powell: We will need to be careful assessing household jobs data. FED POWELL: DATA WAS NOT COLLECTED IN OCT AND HALF OF NOV, SO THE FED WILL LOOK AT IT WITH A SKEPTICAL EYE, INCLUDING CPI AND HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS, WHICH MAY BE DISTORTED BY TECHNICAL FACTORS. POWELL: I COULD MAKE THE CASE FOR EITHER SIDE POWELL: IT'S A CLOSE CALL POWELL: ONE TOOL CAN'T DO TWO THINGS AT ONCE POWELL: IT'S A CHALLENGING SITUATION POWELL: I DON'T THINK A RATE HIKE IS ANYONE'S BASE CASE