Jerome Powell does not promise to ease policy; the Fed will focus on inflation.

Investors hope that the Fed will take significant dovish action following the president’s announcement of tariffs on Wednesday, and the plummet in stock prices over the next two days will have to wait at least a little longer. “We are in a good position to wait for greater clarity before considering any adjustments to our policy stance,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in prepared remarks at the annual conference of the Association for Business Editors and Writers. “It is too early to say what the right path for monetary policy will be.” Note that the tariff level is “significantly higher” than expected, Powell stated that the Fed’s task is to ensure that the temporary rise in inflation does not last. Slightly up before Powell’s speech, perhaps in the hope that he will take a more dovish stance, bitcoin (BTC) has fallen back below $83,000, nearly flat compared to 24 hours ago. This cryptocurrency is performing much better than stocks, with Nasdaq currently down 4.2% after a 6% drop yesterday. President Trump expressed his feelings. A few minutes before Powell’s speech, the president issued a challenge to the Fed chairman. “This will be the perfect time for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to cut interest rates,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “He is always ‘late,’ but now he can change his image and quickly … Cut interest rates, Jerome, and stop playing politics.”