WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Friday that the Fed is not expecting a U.S. or global recession. But it is monitoring a number of uncertainties, including trade conflicts, and will “act as appropriate to sustain the expansion.”
Powell gave an upbeat view of the U.S. economy during an appearance with Swiss National Bank Chairman Thomas Jordan in Switzerland. Powell said that trade policy is causing “some uncertainty” but that the U.S. consumer is in good shape.
“I would not see a recession as the most likely outcome for the United States or the global economy,” Powell said.
Powell was speaking at a conference sponsored by the Swiss Institute of International Studies at the University of Zurich in Switzerland.
It was his first public appearance since his remarks at the Fed’s annual monetary conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Aug. 23. Financial markets were eager to see whether Powell would provide any more clues about what the Fed will do at its next meeting on Sept. 17-18.