Powell says Fed wants to see ‘more good inflation readings’ before it can cut rates

By PAUL WISEMAN
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated a message he has sounded in recent weeks: While the Fed expects to cut interest rates this year, it won’t be ready to do so until it sees “more good inflation readings’’ and is more confident that annual price increases are falling toward its 2% target. Speaking at a conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Powell said he still expected “inflation to come down on a sometimes bumpy path to 2%.″ But the central bank’s policymakers, he said, need to see further evidence before they would cut rates for the first time since inflation shot to a four-decade peak two years ago.