Jerome Powell

The most telling part of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's appearance before the Joint Economic Committee was when he refused to commit to the fed funds rate staying where it is for the next year.

With the fed funds rate target cut to a range of 1.50% to 1.75%, the Federal Reserve may not have enough firepower to respond to the next economic shock.

Unlike previous central bank chiefs, Powell’s chances of being renominated by either the current president or many of the Democratic contenders are slim.

Analysts are skeptical of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's signal that policy makers will keep rates at a range of 1.50% to 1.75%.

While a rate cut is likely next week, dissent on the Federal Open Market Committee may hold the key for future moves.

Observers said the opponents of further rate cuts on the Fed tend to be the non-voters.

The Federal Open Market Committee meeting featuring the release of a new Summary of Economic Projections should give the market a better clue as to whether the expected rate cut is part of a mid-cycle adjustment or the second step in an easing cycle.

The Federal Reserve is likely to cut interest rates this week as its takes out some insurance to keep the U.S. economic expansion continuing in the face of geo-political uncertainty and a global slowdown.

President Donald Trump urged the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates to a level typically reserved for recessions or periods of persistently weak growth, suggesting that such a setting could allow the government to restructure Treasury debt at a lower cost.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the most likely outlook for the U.S. and world economy is continued moderate growth, but the central bank was monitoring “significant risks.”