Washington: The Federal Reserve can stay patient and wait to see how tariffs and other economic policies of the Trump administration play out before making any changes to interest rates, Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday. “For the time being, we are well positioned to wait for greater clarity” on the impact of policy changes in areas such as immigration, taxation, regulation, and tariffs, Powell said.

The sharp volatility in financial markets since President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs April 2, only to put most of them on hold a week later, has led to speculation about whether the Federal Reserve would soon cut interest rate or take other steps to calm investors.