Jerome Powell Speech: Fed Chair doesn't see elevated risk of recession

Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted on Wednesday that the Fed doesn’t see any imminent risk of a US recession. The Fed head also clarified the US central bank’s outlook on inflation, tipping the hat to investors hoping for rate cuts. Fed Chair Powell noted that progress on inflation is ongoing, and while the Fed is waiting for more evidence that inflation will reach 2%, US policymakers are looking for more of what they’ve already seen, not necessarily better overall inflation readings.

Markets took the opportunity to bid Spot Gold into record prices on Fed headlines, and February’s miss in ADP Employment Change is helping to bolster market hopes for easing economic conditions in the US.

ADP Employment Change in February came in at 140K versus the 150K forecast, while the previous month’s print saw a revision to 111K from 107K. US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) still loom ahead on Friday, and markets are expecting the headline print to ease back to 200K from last month’s 11-month high of 353K.