美國減息｜鮑威爾：如有更多利好經濟數據　可增強聯儲局啟動減息信心

I will review the current economic situation before turning to monetary policy.Recent indicators suggest that the U.S. economy continues to expand at a solid pace. Gross domestic product growth appears to have moderated in the first half of this year following impressive strength in the second half of last year. Private domestic demand remains robust， however， with slower but still-solid increases in consumer spending. We have also seen moderate growth in capital spending and a pickup in residential investment so far this year. Improving supply conditions have supported resilient demand and the strong performance of the U.S. economy over the past year.

Inflation has eased notably over the past couple of years but remains above the Committee's longer-run goal of 2 percent. Total personal consumption expenditures （PCE） prices rose 2.6 percent over the 12 months ending in May. Core PCE prices， which exclude the volatile food and energy categories， also increased 2.6 percent. After a lack of progress toward our 2 percent inflation objective in the early part of this year， the most recent monthly readings have shown modest further progress. Longer-term inflation expectations appear to remain well anchored， as reflected in a broad range of surveys of households， businesses， and forecasters， as well as measures from financial markets.Our monetary policy actions are guided by our dual mandate to promote maximum employment and stable prices for the American people. In support of these goals， the Committee has maintained the target range for the federal funds rate at 5-1/4 to 5-1/2 percent since last July， after having tightened the stance of monetary policy significantly over the previous year and a half. We have also continued to reduce our securities holdings. At our May meeting， we decided to slow the pace of balance sheet runoff starting in June， consistent with the plans released previously. Our restrictive monetary policy stance is helping to bring demand and supply conditions into better balance and to put downward pressure on inflation.

We continue to make decisions meeting by meeting. We know that reducing policy restraint too soon or too much could stall or even reverse the progress we have seen on inflation. At the same time， in light of the progress made both in lowering inflation and in cooling the labor market over the past two years， elevated inflation is not the only risk we face. Reducing policy restraint too late or too little could unduly weaken economic activity and employment. In considering adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate， the Committee will continue its practice of carefully assessing incoming data and their implications for the evolving outlook， the balance of risks， and the appropriate path of monetary policy.

Let me conclude by emphasizing that we understand that our actions affect communities， families， and businesses across the country. Everything we do is in service to our public mission.