Good afternoon. My colleagues and i are strongly committed to bringing inflation back down and we are moving expeditiously to do so. We have both the tools that we need and the result it will take to restore price stability on behalf of American Families and businesses. The economy and country have been through a lot in the past two and a half years. It is important we bring inflation down to our 2 goal if we will have a sustained period of strong labor Market Conditions that benefit all. From the standpoint of oracle personal mandate to promote maximum employment and price stability, the picture is plain to see. The labor market is extremely tight, and inflation is much too high. Against this backdrop, today the fomc raised its policy Interest Rate by three quarters of a percent, and anticipates that ongoing increases in the target range for the federal funds rate will be appropriate. In addition, we are continuing the process of significantly reducing the size of our Balance Sheet, and i will have more to say about todays actions after briefly reviewing economic developments. Recent indicators of spending and production have softened. Growth and Consumer Spending has slowed significantly, in part reflecting lower real disposable income and tighter financial conditions. Activity in the housing sector has weakened, in part reflecting higher Mortgage Rates, and after a strong increase in the First Quarter, business fixed investment also looks to have declined. Despite these developments, the labor market has remained extremely tight, with the Unemployment Rate near if 50 year low, Job Vacancies near historical highs, and wage growth elevated. In the past three months, employment rose an average of 370 5000 jobs per month, down from the average piece seen earlier in the year, but still robust. Improvements in labor Market Conditions have been widespread, including for workers at the lower end of the wage distribution as well as for africanamericans and hispanics. Labor demand is very strong, while supply remains subdued with the Labor Force Participation rate changed since january. Over all the continued strength of the labor market suggests that underlying aggregate demand remains solid. Inflation remains well above our longer run goal of 2 . Over the 12 months ending in may, total pce prices rose 6. 3 , excluding the volatile food and energy categories. Core pce prices rose 4. 7 . In june, 12 month change in Consumer Prices came in above expectations at 3. 1 in the change in the core cpi was 5 . Notwithstanding the slowdown in Economic Activity, aggregate demand remains strong. Supply chain issues have been longer and longer lasting than anticipated. Although prices for some commodities have turned down recently, the earlier surge in prices of crude oil and other commodities that resulted from russias war on ukraine has boosted prices for gasoline and food, creating additional upward pressure on inflation. The feds Monetary Policy actions are guided by our mandate to promote maximum employment and stable prices for the American People. My colleagues and i are acutely aware that high inflation poses significant hardship, especially on those least able to meet the cost of higher essentials like food, housing and transportation. We are aware of the risks high inflation poses and we are strongly committed to returning inflation to our 2 objective. At todays meeting, the committee raised the target range for the federal funds rate by 0. 75 , ringing the target range to 2. 25 percent. We continue the process of significantly reducing the size of our Balance Sheet, which plays an Important Role in forming the stance of our Monetary Policy. We will be looking for compelling evidence in the coming months that inflation is moving down, consistent with inflation returning to 2 . We anticipate ongoing increases will be appropriate. The pace of those increases will continue to depend on incoming data and evolving outlook for the economy. Todays increases in the target range is the second 75 basis point increase in our many meetings in as many meetings. While another unusually large increase could be appropriate in our next meeting, that decision will depend on the day that we get the data that we get between no and then. We will continue to communicate our thinking as clearly as possible. As the stance of Monetary Policy tightens further, it likely will become appropriate to slow the pace of increase where we assess how our cumulative policy adjustments are affecting the economy and inflation. Our overarching focus is using our tools to bring demand into better balance with supply, in order to bring inflation down to our 2 goal and keep longerterm expectations wellanchored. Making appropriate Monetary Policy in this uncertain environment requires recognition that the economy evolves in unexpected ways. Inflation has obviously surprised to the upside over the past year, and further surprises could be instore. We therefore will need to be nimble in responding to incoming data, and we will strive to avoid ending uncertainty in what is an already extraordinarily challenging and uncertain time. We are highly attentive to inflation risk and determined to take the measures necessary to returning inflation to our 2 longer run goal. This process will likely will be a period of belowtrend Economic Growth and softening labor Market Conditions, but such outcomes are necessary to restore price stability and to set the stage for achieving maximum employment and stable prices over the longer run. To conclude, we understand our actions affect communities, families and businesses across the country. Everything we do it in service to our mission. We will do everything we can to achieve maximum employment and price stability goals. Thank you and a look forward to your questions i look forward to your questions. Thank you for taking our questions. Rachel from the washington post. I am wondering if you can walk us through your thinking around the decision not to go for a full percentage point increase. We saw a ramp up after there may cpi report. Is there a discussion of a stronger hike at this meeting . Howard we did judge that a 75 basis point increase was the right magnitude in light of the data and in the context of the ongoing increases in the policy rate we have been making. We would not hesitate to make an even larger move than we did today if the committee were to conclude that was appropriate. That was not the case at this meeting. There was very broad support for the more we made. The june meeting, we had said many times that we were prepared to move aggressively if inflation continued to disappoint. And that is why we moved to a more aggressive pace at the june meeting. At this meeting we continued that more aggressive pace as inflation has continued to disappoint in the form of the june cpi reading. Reporter thank you so much for taking our questions. Colby smith with the financial times. As the Committee Considers the policy path forward, how will it weigh the expected decline in headline inflation which might come as a result of dropping Commodity Prices against the fact that we are likely to see persistence in court readings in particular . And given the potential tension and signs of any activity weakening, how is the committees thinking changed on how far into restricted territory rates we may need to go . Chairman powell argus start by saying that we have been movie we would move expeditiously to get to neutral, and i think we have done that now. We are at 2. 25 to 2. 5 . So one thing that has not changed is, and that will not change, is that our focus will continue to be on using our tools to bring demand back into balance with supply in order to bring inflation down, that will be our overarching focus. We also said we expect ongoing rate hikes will be appropriate and that will da decision meeting by meeting. We will be looking at incoming data and that will start with Economic Activity. Are we seeing the slowdown in Economic Activity that we think we need . There is some evidence that we are at this time. Of course we will be looking at labor Market Conditions and asking whether we see alignment between supply and demand Getting Better or closer. We will be looking at inflation. You mentioned headline and core inflation. Overhead. Our mission is for headline. But we look at core because it is a better indication of headline. We will be looking at both, both for what they are saying about the outlook, rather than for what they say. But we will be asking, do we see inflationary pressures declining, factual readings of inflation coming down . Whether the stance of policy we have is efficient. It is also worth noting that these rate hikes have been larger than they have come and they have come quickly and it is likely that your full effect hasnt been felt by the economy, so there is probably additional tightening, significant additional tightening in the pipeline. Where are we going with this . I think the committee broadly feels that we need to get policy to at least a moderately restrictive level, and may be the best data point for that would be what we wrote down at the june meeting. I think the median for the end of this year for the meeting would have been between 3. 25 to 3. 5 percent. And people wrote down 50 basis points higher than that for 2023, even though that is now six weeks old, i guess that is the most recent reading. We will update the reading at the september meeting in eight weeks. That is how we are thinking about it. As it relates to september, another unusually large increase could be appropriate, but that is not a decision we will make now, it is one that we will make meeting by meeting. We think it is time to just go to a meeting by meeting basis and not provide the clear guidance we have provided on the way to neutral. Reporter wall street journal. Chair powell, you said your policy works through influencing expectations and that policy needs to be moderately restrictive, which means you need financial conditions to stay tight. The futures Market Pricing currently applies that you will raise rates along the lines of your june sep but then lowered them a few months later next year. These expectations consistent with the need to keep financial conditions tight in order to moderate purchasing power and bring in inflation factor 2 bring in inflation back to 2 . Chairman powell it is very hard to say with confidence in normal times for the economy will be doing in six to 12 months. Try to predict what the appropriate Monetary Policy response will be. We do that in that sep, nonetheless, you have to take into account what the rate will be next year with a grain of salt because there is so much uncertainty. These are not normal times. There is significantly more uncertainty now. I would the best data, the only data point i have is the june sep it is the most recent thing the committee has done, since then inflation has come in higher, Economic Activity has come in weaker than expected. At the same time, i would say that is probably the best estimate of where the committee s thinking is still, which is that we will get to a moderately restrictive level litter this year, somewhere between 3. 2 5 and 3. 5 . As i mentioned, we will update that at the september meeting, but that is really the best that i can do on that. Reporter you said inflation had been harder than anticipated. Has your view of the terminal rate changed since june . Reporter i think we did not expect a good reading. This one was even worse than expected, i would. I will talk about my own personal estimate of what the terminal rate will be, it is going to evolve. It has evolved over the course, for all participants, over the course of the year. As we learn how persistent inflation will be. By the september meeting, we will have seen it two more labor market readings and significant readings about Economic Activity and perhaps geopolitical development, who knows . It is an eight week intervening period so i think we will see a lot of data and make our decisions during that meeting based on the data. Reporter thank you for taking my question. New york times. You alluded to this earlier, but i wonder, in the event that you see several months of very weak headline Inflation Numbers because oil prices are coming down so much that core inflation continues to be stronger or even picks up, i wonder how you would think about that. Chairman powell it is hard to deal with hypotheticals, but i guess i would say this, we would look at both. We would be asking ourselves, are we confident that inflation is on a path down to 2 . That is the question. Our policy stance would be set at a level ultimately at which we are confident that inflation will be moving down to 2 . It would depend on a lot of things. As i mentioned, core inflation is a better predictor of inflation Going Forward, headline inflation tends to be volatile, so in ordinary times, you look through volatile moves in commodities. The problem with the Current Situation is that if you have a sustained period of supply shocks, those can actually start to undermine or to work on de anchoring inflation expectations. The public does not distinguish between four and headline inflation in their thinking. That is something we have to take into consideration even though our tools dont work on some aspects of this, which are the supplyside issues. Reporter thank you for taking my question. Cnbc. Earlier the president said we are not going to be in a recession. Do you share the president s confidence of not being in a recession . Second, how would or would not a recession change policy. Is there a line where contraction of the economy would be a turning point in policy or is there some amount of contraction of the economy that the committee would be willing to abide, in its efforts to reduce inflation . Chairman powell so, as i mentioned, we think it is necessary to have growth slowdown. Growth is going to be slowing down this year for a couple of reasons, one of which is that you are coming up the very high growth of the reopening year of 2021. You are also seeing tighter Monetary Policy, and we should see some slowing. We need a period of slow growth below potential in order to create some slacks of the supplyside can catch up. We also think there will be in all likelihood, some softening in the labor Market Conditions. Those are things that we expect and we think they are probably necessary if we are going to get inflation back down on the path to 2 ultimately. Reporter the question was whether you see it recession coming. Chairman powell so we will be focused on getting inflation back down. As i said on other occasions. Price stability is really the bedrock of the economy. Nothing works in the economy without price stability. We cant have a strong labor market without price stability for an extended period. We want to go to the price stability before the pandemic, where differences between racial and gender differences and that kind of thing were at historic minimums, where participation was high. We want to get back to that. But that is not happening and will not happen without restoring price stability. That is something that we see as something that we simply must do, and we think that we dont see it as a tradeoff with the employment mandate, we see it as a way to facilitate the sustained achievement of the employment mandate in the longerterm. Reporter Howard Schneider with reuters. In regard to expectations, it has been said in the last few months that the risks of doing too little outweigh the risks of doing too much. Does that remain the bias . Chairman powell we are trying to do just the right amount. Youre not trying to have a recession and we dont think we have to. We think there is a path for us to bring inflation down while sustaining a strong labor market. In all likelihood along with some softening in the labor Market Conditions. That is what we are trying to achieve and we continue to think there is a path to that. We know that pat has narrowed, based on events outside our control, and it may narrow further. I do think that restoring price ability is something we have to do. There is not an option to fail to do that, because it enables you to have a strong labor market over time, without restoring price stability, you will not be able to actually have a sustained period of very strong labor Market Conditions. Of course, we serve both sides of the dual mandate, but we see them as very well aligned on this. Reporter as a followup, given that uncertainty and the paradoxical data you have been getting, if you will make a mistake, would you rather make a mistake on doing too much, raising too much or raising too little . Chairman powell we are trying not to make a mistake. Put it this way, we see that twoside of risk the risk of doing too much and imposing more of a downturn on the economy than was necessary, that the risk of doing too little and leaving the economy with this interest inflation only raises the cost. If you fail to deal with it in the near term, it only raises the cost of dealing with it later, to the extent people start to see it as part of their economic lives. They start to factor high inflation into their decisions on a sustained basis. When that starts to happen and we dont think it does happen. But when it starts to happen, it gets harder and the pain gets greater. So it is important that we address this now and get it done. Reporter thanks, chair powell. From axios. To build a bit on what steve was asking, do