Fed Chair Jerome Powell says lower rate hike 'makes sense' in December

Nov. 30 (UPI) -- The Federal Reserve has been hinting at the possibility of stepping down from its recent 0.75 percentage point interest rate hikes to a half-percent increase in December.

On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave another sign that the smaller rate increase is more likely to come when the Federal Open Market Committee meets Dec. 13 and 14.

Powell spoke at the Brookings Institution in Washington on the economic outlook, inflation and labor market in the United States. The speech was also live streamed via YouTube.

"It makes sense to moderate the pace of our rate increases as we approach the level of restraint that will be sufficient to bring inflation down," he said. "The time for moderating the pace of rate increases may come as soon as the December meeting."

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