(Reuters) - The U.S. job market "is still a ways off" from the progress the Federal Reserve wants to see before reducing its support for the economy, while current high inflation will ease "in coming months," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in remarks prepared for delivery at a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
Story:
STOCKS: S&P 500 futures extended gains and were last up 0.4%, pointing to a firmer open on Wall Street
BONDS: The 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield slipped to 1.3771; 2s fell to 0.2349%
FOREX: The U.S. dollar index was down 0.4%
COMMENTS:
BEN JEFFERY, U.S. RATES STRATEGIST, BMO CAPITAL MARKETS, NEW YORK (via email)
"Powell’s testimony was on the dovish side and the Treasury curve has steepened slightly in response, although we will look for clarity at this Q+A on Capitol Hill this afternoon."
ROBERTO PERLI, HEAD OF GLOBAL POLICY RESEARCH, CORNERSTONE MACRO, WASHINGTON (via email)
“The testimony conveys a stay-the-course attitude. This is not very surprising because testimonies are rarely the preferred venues to convey policy shifts and because the FOMC hasn’t had a chance to discuss recent events, including yesterday’s CPI print. The press conference following the July meeting should be much more informative about the future course of Fed policy. “