More progress is needed on employment, price stability before tapering bond purchases, Powell says
The main concern is that the Fed will end up responding too late and too aggressively to high inflation
The NBER said the economy reached its lowest point in terms of jobs and output in April 2020
The Fed chair signalled no imminent change to ultra-low interest rates
The increase has heightened concerns that the Fed might introduce rate hikes earlier than expected
Higher inflation could prove more persistent than the U.S. central bank previously indicated
The number of available jobs at the end of May rose to 9.21 million
Powell's comments come as financial markets struggle to interpret the Fed’s recent moves
The Federal Reserve may act sooner than planned to start dialing back low-interest rate policies
Escalating inflation has intensified pressure on the central bank