Jerome Powell on rate cuts: Time for a change in Fed policy

On Friday, at the Fed's annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell made a landmark statement emphasizing the need to change current monetary policy. He said it was time for the central bank to consider lowering interest rates, Yahoo reported.

Powell noted: "It is now important to start adjusting our policy," adding that while the course of action is obvious, the timing and scale of changes will depend on new data, economic prospects and risk analysis.

This speech came just three weeks before the Fed's meeting on September 17-18, where it is expected to announce the first rate cut since 2020.

The head of the Fed also mentioned the recent weakening in the market labor, stressing that the central bank does not seeks to further worsen the situation in this area and does not consider this as a desirable development.