Powell says Fed has made ‘quite a bit of progress’ on inflation but needs more confidence before cutting

- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell expressed satisfaction with progress on inflation but wants to see more before cutting interest rates - Powell wants to be more confident that inflation is moving down towards 2% sustainably before reducing policy - The Fed is watching inflation closely as it shows signs of easing and central banks globally are adjusting interest rates - Markets previously expected more Fed rate cuts, but now anticipate two cuts, one in September and one before the year end - Powell is not focused on politics, including the upcoming presidential election in November.