IN 11 CHARTS: Fed Remains On Hold, But Still Leans Towards Easing

President Donald Trump has been calling on Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates. The Fed chair has been the object of intensifying schoolyard jabs from the President. "We have a stupid person, frankly, at the Fed," Trump told reporters following the Fed's stand-pat decision on Wednesday. "Am I allowed to appoint myself at the Fed? I'd do a much better job than these people."

Clearly, the Powell-led Fed made the smart decision to leave rates alone on Wednesday—and to signal that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is in no hurry to ease. As Powell observed in his post-decision presser, labor "conditions have remained solid" and inflation, while still "somewhat elevated" has "eased significantly." He added that "we're beginning to see some effects" from Trump's tariffs on inflation. Powell also reiterated, "we are well-positioned to wait to learn more about the likely course of the economy before considering any adjustments to our policy stance." However, as Powell made clear, the FOMC’s bias is toward lowering rates versus raising them.