Federal Reserve is not 'overreacting' to Iran-Israel conflict, says Powell originally appeared on TheStreet .
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell maintained a careful stance on interest rate reductions before Congress on June 24.
Powell persuaded many Fed officials to expect to begin cutting interest rates by the end of this year. Still, the inflation trajectory is heading upward, not downward, so he wants to "wait and see".
Powell reiterated that they are not overreacting to geopolitical tensions but just deciding to pause interest rates on the basis of inflation data.
He also said, "As long as the economy's strong, we can take a little bit of a pause here," he said, contrasting the present outlook of Iran-Israel conflict and the expectations of declining inflation.
He added, "Then inflation was forecasted to continue to come down here, it's forecasted to go up by all forecasters. So and again, we're not overreacting."
While the Chairman has indicated a rate cut for later in the year, Bitcoin has been trading at $105,506.28, up by 3.67% over the past day. The crypto markets seem to be positively reacting to the news.
Join the discussion with Scott Melker on the Roundtable here .
On the GENIUS Act
Interestingly, Powell when asked about Wall Street's new stablecoin act , he replied saying,
"Let me say I think it's it's a great thing that bills are moving. We need a we need a stablecoin framework on that particular issue. I don't have a view for you. I can come back to you on that [later]."
The GENIUS Act establishes federal rules for issuing and backing U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins.
Powell also told Congress the central bank is paying attention to cybersecurity risks and working closely with other government agencies and banks to protect the American banking systems.
He acknowledged that the attacks on financial institutions are constantly evolving and admitted that one "can never be comfortable" as "the bad guys are always getting better."
Join the discussion with Mario Nawfal on the Roundtable here .
When asked about political pressure, name-calling, and "bullying" from the White House, Powell clarified that the Federal Reserve is an independent entity and stated that the Fed is only interested in providing the American people with a strong economy. "Anything else is a distraction," he said, emphasizing that the Fed is not a political organization.
Federal Reserve is not 'overreacting' to Iran-Israel conflict, says Powell first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 24, 2025
This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 24, 2025, where it first appeared.
