Chair Jerome Powell signalled the beginning of the end of the Fed's pandemic response in a Friday speech
The decision for the U.S. central bank to dial back economic support becomes more complicated
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