Powell speech: By now we would have expected faster progress on inflation

FOMC Chairman Jerome Powell comments on the policy outlook after the Federal Reserve's decision to raise the policy rate by 50 basis points to the range of 4.25-4.5% following the December policy meeting.

Key quotes

"I don't think SEP projections qualify as projecting a recession but economy will have very slow growth."

"4.7% unemployment rate is still a strong labor market."

"Firms want to hold on to workers as it's been hard to hire."

"That doesn't sound like a labor market that will have a lot of layoffs."

"Having moved so quickly, we think the appropriate thing to do is to move to a slower pace of rate hikes."

"That will allow us to better balance risks."

"SEP reflects any data that comes out before the meeting and during the meeting. Participants can even change their dots during the meeting."

"By now we would have expected faster progress on inflation."