Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the outlooks for the labour market and inflation face risks, reiterating his view that policymakers likely have a difficult road ahead as they weigh further interest-rate cuts.

“Near-term risks to inflation are tilted to the upside and risks to employment to the downside — a challenging situation,” Powell said Tuesday in remarks prepared for an event at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce in Rhode Island. “Two-sided risks mean that there is no risk-free path.”

Powell offered no hints on whether he might support a rate cut at the Fed’s next meeting, in October.

Powell’s remarks hewed closely to those he made in a press conference on September 17 after Fed policymakers lowered the central bank’s benchmark interest rate to a range of 4%-4.2

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