Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell finally communicated Wednesday that a rate cut could arrive at the September meeting if inflation and the labor market perform as expected. The Fed opted to hold the interest rate steady at 5.25-5.5% for the eighth straight meeting in July, as widely predicted. While the decision was unanimous, Powell said there was a “real discussion” about the case for moving on interest rates at this meeting, although the strong majority supported a hold. “The broad sense of the committee is that the economy is moving closer to the point at which it will be appropriate to reduce our policy rate,” Powell said. Fed’s Confidence In 2% Inflation Increases “If we see inflation moving down quickly or more or less in line with expectations, growth remains reasonably strong, and the labor market remains consistent with its current condition, then I would think that a rate cut could be on the table at the September meeting,” Powell said. The Fed’s progress on ...