Powell speech: Negative rates not a tool we are looking to use

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve System, is responding to questions at the National Association for Business Economics' 62nd Annual Meeting.

Key quotes

"If recovery is slower, rates will be at lower bound for longer; guidance is outcome-based, not time-based."

"Lots of people will benefit from low rates; low unemployment before the crisis had great societal benefits."

"Negative interest rates are not a tool we see as something we are looking to use."

About Jerome Powell (via Federalreserve.gov)

Jerome H. Powell took office as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on February 5, 2018, for a four-year term. Mr. Powell also serves as Chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee, the System's principal monetary policymaking body. Mr. Powell has served as a member of the Board of Governors since taking office on May 25, 2012, to fill an unexpired term. He was reappointed to the Board and sworn in on June 16, 2014, for a term ending January 31, 2028.

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

EUR/USD loses the grip, returns to the sub-1.1800 zone

EUR/USD extends its daily pullback, slipping below the 1.1800 mark and hitting fresh multi-day lows ahead of the opening bell in Asia. The move reflects renewed strength in the US Dollar, with investors continuing to digest the so-called “Warsh trade” while weighing the latest US data releases.

GBP/USD bounces off lows, retests 1.3640

GBP/USD adds to Friday’s losses, reaching six-day lows near 1.3620, although regaining some composure soon afterwards. Indeed, Cable’s pullback comes amid the ongoing solid performance of the Greenback, while traders also begin to turn their attention to the upcoming BoE meeting.

Gold looking to stabilize below $4,700

Gold remains under heavy pressure in quite a negative start to the week, hovering around the $4,600 region per troy ounce and retreating for the third day in a row. The yellow metal’s decline comes amid strong gains in the US Dollar, the broad-based rebound in US Treasury yield and the deep sell-off in the precious metals’ space.

Ethereum bounces off $2,150 as Bitmine stretches holdings above 4.28 million ETH

Ethereum treasury firm Bitmine Immersion Technologies scooped 41,788 ETH last week in another round of weekly ETH acquisition.

RBA expected to hike interest rates in February amid resurging inflation

The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely expected to raise the Official Cash Rate to 3.85% from 3.6% after concluding its first monetary policy meeting of 2026. The decision will be announced on Tuesday at 03:30 GMT, accompanied by the Monetary Policy Statement and the quarterly economic forecasts, followed by RBA Governor Michele Bullock’s press conference at 04:30 GMT.

Ripple steadies after sell-off as low on-chain activity, retail interest weigh

XRP rebounds from last week’s support at $1.50 but struggles below resistance at $1.77. Active addresses on the XRP Ledger dropped below 18,000 on Sunday amid risk-averse sentiment. Retail interest in XRP continues to decline, with futures Open Interest dropping to $2.81 billion.