Trump tariffs have delayed interest rate cuts, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the U.S. central bank has held off on lowering interest rates this year because of President Trump's tariffs.

Speaking at a gathering of central bankers in Portugal, Powell said "I think that's right" in response to a moderator's question about whether the Fed would have cut its benchmark rate if not for the U.S. imposing steep tariffs on key trading partners. 

"In effect, we went on hold when we saw the size of the tariffs, and essentially all inflation forecasts for the United States went up materially as a consequence of the tariffs," Powell said. "So we didn't overreact — in fact, we didn't react at all. We're simply taking some time."