Fed’s Powell sends strong signal for rate cut this month

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell plans to tell Congress that since the Fed's last policy meeting "trade tensions and concerns about global growth" continue to weigh on the economy, while weak inflation will be "more persistent" than the Fed anticipates, according to an opening statement released ahead of his testimony before the House Financial Services Committee.

Why it matters: Wall Street was looking to Powell for confirmation of its expectation that there will be a cut of at least a 25 basis point rate later this month. Powell seems to have provided exactly that.