Fed chair leaves door open for future rate cuts as 'important' data less available amid shutdown

PHILADELPHIA — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell emphasized the “tension” between the central bank’s dual goals of balancing labor and inflation Tuesday, while also warning that a lack of data due to a lengthy government shutdown could make the Fed’s job in setting monetary policy “more challenging.”

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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell emphasized the “tension” between the central bank’s dual goals of balancing labor and inflation Tuesday, while also warning that a lack of data due to a lengthy government shutdown could make the Fed’s job in setting monetary policy “more challenging”

Powell’s remarks come about two weeks ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, where the body will vote on whether to change the federal funds rate – the interest rate that