Time has come to cut interest rates: Fed chief

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US Fed chief Jerome Powell said the time has come for the central bank to cut its key

policy rate

, affirming expectations that officials will begin lowering borrowing costs next month and making clear his intention to prevent further cooling in the

labour market

.
“The time has come for policy to adjust,” Powell said on Friday in a speech at the Kansas City‘s Fed’s annual conference in

Jackson Hole

, Wyoming.

“The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook and the balance of risks.”