美联储椅杰罗姆·鲍威尔他周三表示，由于对央行办公室装修的调查仍在继续，他将在下个月任期届满后继续留在央行理事会。
司法部上周停止了对鲍威尔的刑事调查，呼吁美联储监察长对与翻新相关的成本超支进行调查。他说，鲍威尔将继续留在美联储董事会，时间长短不定。
鲍威尔在华盛顿特区的一次新闻发布会上说:“我说过，在调查完全透明并最终结束之前，我不会离开董事会，我袖手旁观。”
“我真正担心的是对美联储的一系列法律攻击，这些攻击威胁到我们在不考虑政治因素的情况下实施货币政策的能力，”鲍威尔补充道。
鲍威尔可以在2028年前留在美联储12人决策委员会，在此期间保留央行利率政策的角色。
“我的意图是不干涉，”鲍威尔说，并补充说，他计划在任期结束时退休，直到特朗普政府采取法律行动。
对鲍威尔的刑事调查集中在所谓的向国会提供关于办公室装修的虚假证词上。2017年由特朗普任命的鲍威尔指责这项调查是出于政治动机影响利率政策的努力。
鲍威尔的美联储主席任期将于5月15日结束，但他上个月表示，他将留在这个位置上，直到他的继任者得到确认。
由于物价上涨，美联储周三维持利率不变升高作为对石油危机的回应伊朗战争.
最近加入董事会的前特朗普政府官员斯蒂芬·米兰(Stephen Miran)在利率水平上投下了唯一的反对票。他呼吁降息25个基点。
基准利率在3.5%至3.75%之间。这一数字标志着从2023年达到的近期峰值大幅下降，但借贷成本仍远高于新冠肺炎疫情开始时设定的0%利率。
A冷淡的与此同时，随着鲍威尔下个月任期即将结束，白宫和国会之间的分歧给鲍威尔的继任计划蒙上了阴影。
参议院银行委员会(Senate Banking Committee)周三以13比11的投票结果批准了美联储主席提名人的提名，共和党人支持这一提名，民主党人反对。
然而，最近几个月，沃什在参议院银行委员会面临两党的阻挠，原因是对鲍威尔进行了联邦刑事调查。
司法部搬到了滴上周的调查为沃什在委员会投票中晋级铺平了道路。沃什将面临参议院的确认投票。
物价上涨的同时，经济增长也在放缓，这有可能加剧被称为“双重打击”的经济危机滞胀，“这给美联储带来了困难。
如果美联储选择降低借贷成本，可能会刺激经济增长，但会带来更高的通胀风险。另一方面，选择加息可能会减缓价格上涨，但增加了经济表现降温的可能性。
自美国-以色列与伊朗的战争推高汽油价格并有可能引发更大范围的通货膨胀以来，美联储上个月在首次会议上维持利率稳定。
央行周三的举措标志着自2026年初以来，央行连续第三次选择将利率维持在当前水平。在此之前，美联储连续三次降息0.25个百分点。
沃什是前美联储官员，目前是斯坦福大学胡佛研究所(Hoover Institution)的研究员。
在2000年代末和2010年代初担任美联储理事期间，沃什获得了利率“鹰派”的名声，这意味着他通常更喜欢用高利率来确保低而稳定的通胀。
然而，最近几个月，Warsh表示支持降低利率，反驳了美联储对去年颁布的一系列新关税带来的通胀风险的担忧。
根据国际货币基金组织的数据，市场认为利率在今年剩余时间内保持稳定的可能性约为80%CME FedWatch工具.
Fed chair Jerome Powell says he will stay on central bank's board after term expires next month
Federal Reserve ChairJerome Powellon Wednesday said he would stay on at the central bank's board of governors after his term expires next month as an investigation into the central bank's office renovation continues, he said.
The Department of Justice moved to drop a criminal probe into Powell last week, calling on the Fed's inspector general to carry out the investigation into cost overruns tied to the renovation. Powell will remain on the Fed's board for an indeterminate length of time, he said.
"I've said I won't leave the board until this investigation is well and truly over with transparency and finality, and I stand by it," Powell said at a press conference in Washington, D.C.
"My concern is really about the series of legal attacks on the Fed, which threaten our ability to conduct monetary policy without considering political factors," Powell added.
Powell could remain on the Fed's 12-member policymaking board until 2028, retaining a role in the central bank's interest-rate policy over that period.
"My intention is not to interfere," Powell said, adding that he had planned to retire at the end of his term until the legal actions taken by the Trump administration.
The criminal investigation into Powell focused on alleged false testimony to Congress about an office renovation. Powell, who was appointed by Trump in 2017, has rebuked the probe as a politically motivated effort to influence interest-rate policy.
Powell's term as Fed chair ends on May 15, but he said last month he would stay in the position until his replacement is confirmed.
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday as pricesrisein response to an oil shock set off by theIran war.
Stephen Miran, a former Trump administration official who recently joined the board, cast the lone dissenting vote on the level of interest rates. He called for a quarter-point rate cut.
The benchmark rate stands at a level between 3.5% and 3.75%. That figure marks a significant drop from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Astandoffbetween the White House and Congress, meanwhile, has cast doubt over succession plans for Powell as his term comes to a close next month.
The Senate Banking Committee voted 13-11 to approve the nomination of Fed chair nominee on a party-line vote on Wednesday, with Republicans supporting the nomination and Democrats opposing it.
In recent months, however, Warsh faced a bipartisan stonewall in the Senate Banking Committee over a federal criminal investigation into Powell.
The Department of Justice moved todropthe probe last week, paving the way for Warsh to advance in the committee vote. Warsh will face a confirmation vote on the Senate floor.
Elevated price increases have coincided with a slowdown of economic growth, threatening to intensify an economic double-whammy known as "stagflation," which poses difficulty for the Fed.
If the Fed opts to lower borrowing costs, it could spur growth but risk higher inflation. On the other hand, the choice to raise interest rates may slow price increases but raises the likelihood of a cooldown in economic performance.
The Fed held interest rates steady last month at its first meeting since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran drove up gasoline prices and risked a wider bout of inflation.
The central bank's move on Wednesday marked the third consecutive time it has opted to maintain interest rates at current levels since the outset of 2026. Before that, the Fed cut interest rates a quarter-point three straight times.
Warsh, a former Fed official, is currently a fellow at a conservative think tank called the Hoover Institution, which is based at Stanford University.
During his term as a Fed governor in the late 2000s and early 2010s, Warsh gained a reputation as an interest-rate “hawk,” meaning he generally preferred higher interest rates as a means of ensuring low and stable inflation.
In recent months, however, Warsh has voiced support for lower interest rates, rebuking the Fed’s concern about inflation risk posed by a flurry of new tariffs issued last year.
Markets peg a roughly 80% chance of interest rates holding steady for the remainder of this year, according to theCME FedWatch Tool.
