Federal Reserve ‘on track to cut rates despite signs of persistent inflation’

Federal Reserve Board chair Jerome Powell (Susan Walsh/AP)

Federal Reserve officials will likely reduce their benchmark interest rate later this year, chair Jerome Powell said, despite recent reports showing that the US economy is still strong and inflation picked up in January and February.

“The recent data do not … materially change the overall picture,” Mr Powell said in a speech at Stanford University, “which continues to be one of solid growth, a strong but rebalancing labour market, and inflation moving down toward 2% on a sometimes bumpy path.”