Fed's Powell: Economic conditions healthy, economic outlook favorable with some crosscurrents

"While we view current economic conditions as healthy and the economic outlook as favorable, over the past few months we have seen some crosscurrents and conflicting signals," FOMC Chairman Jerome Powell said in his Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

Key quotes

• The job market remains strong.
• In another welcome development, we are seeing signs of stronger wage growth.
• Recent declines in energy prices will likely push headline inflation further below the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) longer-run goal of 2 percent for a time, but aside from those transitory effects, we expect that inflation will run close to 2 percent.
• While we view current economic conditions as healthy and the economic outlook as favorable, over the past few months we have seen some crosscurrents and conflicting signals.
• We are prepared to adjust any of the details for completing balance sheet normalization in light of economic and financial developments