US central bank chief expected to take wait-and-see approach to economy

US central bank chief expected to take wait-and-see approach to economy

The resort of Jackson Hole in the Grand Tetons will be the focus of intense financial market interest on Friday as the head of the US central bank, Jerome Powell, gives his update on the health of the world’s biggest economy.

Expectations that Powell will provide a timetable for the scaling back of the Federal Reserve’s colossal support programme have faded in recent days due to signs that rising case numbers of the Delta variant of coronavirus are leading to slower growth.

The prospect of the Fed chief adopting a wait-and-see approach in his virtual address to the annual gathering of central bankers hosted by the federal reserve bank of Kansas City has calmed markets after falls in share prices last week.