Jay Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, has warned Congress of “significant uncertainty” surrounding the “timing and strength” of the US economic recovery, after some encouraging data stoked hopes of a swift exit from the recession triggered by the pandemic.
In prepared remarks to the Senate banking committee, Mr Powell struck a cautious tone about America’s economic prospects, in line with most Fed officials’ expectations that they will have to keep interest rates close to zero until at least the end of 2022.
The Fed chair’s wariness came despite figures last week showing a surprise bounce-back in job creation in May after a flood of lay-offs a month earlier. Data released on Tuesday also revealed a larger-than-expected rebound in retail sales last month.