Feb. 11 (UPI) — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is on Capitol Hill Tuesday for the first of two hearings he will testify in this week.
Powell faces the Senate Banking Committee for the “Semiannual Monetary Policy Report” at 10 a.m. EST. He will meet with the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.
The hearings will go over economic developments and prospects for the future as well as monetary policy details, according to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Powell last testified before Congress in July.
Powell’s testimony will yield some insight into the effects of President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs and other policy decisions on the marketplace.
The Federal Open Market Committee maintained interest rates in December after cutting rates in three consecutive meetings prior. Interest rates instead remain in the 4.25% to 4.5% range.
Trump was critical of the Federal Reserve for not lowering interest rates but has since said it was “the right thing to do.”
The U.S. economy added 143,000 jobs in January, fewer than what was projected. About 6.8 million people are unemployed. The jobs report will have some influence on the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold, lower or raise interest rates in the future.
The consumer price index for the month of January — another influential measure of the economy’s health — is due to be released on Wednesday.
The two- and 10-year U.S. Treasury yields were up 4.292% and 4.529% respectively on Tuesday ahead of the Senate panel hearing. A Treasury bond yield is the interest rate that the federal government pays to borrow money on a loan that matures in two or 10 years.
