Powell opening statement: Path forward is uncertain. Full effects of tightening to come

<ul><li>Growth in economic activity has slowed substantially</li><li>Given how far we've come, and given uncertainties, we are proceeding carefully</li><li>Inflation has eased with a significant rise in unemployment</li><li>Labor demand still exceeds supply, but gap has narrowed</li><li>Wage growth appears to be easing</li><li>Activity in housing sector has flattened out</li><li>Higher interest rates also weighing on business fixed investment</li><li>Lower inflation readings are welcome but we will need to see further evidence</li><li>We anticipate that the process of getting inflation all the way to 2% will take time</li><li>We're highly attentive to the risks that high inflation poses to both sides of our mandate</li><li>We believe that we're at or near peak rates in this cycle</li><li>We are prepared to tighten further if appropriate</li><li>Will keep policy restrictive until confident on path to 2% inflation</li><li>Officials don't want to keep possibility of hikes off the table</li></ul><p>There's no strong pushback here to the market's reaction or pricing and he's validated that the Fed thinks they're likely at the peak. </p><p>Here's the Fed's inflation target.</p>

This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.