Fed chief Jerome Powell weighed in on the tariffs of President Trump on Friday, saying that the central bank is worried about their effect on inflation but isn't ready to make a move on interest rates. "We are well positioned to wait for greater clarity before considering any adjustments to our policy stance," Powell told business journalists, per CNBC. "It is too soon to say what will be the appropriate path for monetary policy." Powell, though, voiced concern as stock markets around the world faced turbulence. "While uncertainty remains elevated, it is now becoming clear that the tariff increases will be significantly larger than expected," he said, per the Wall Street Journal, adding that it was "highly likely" that the tariffs will lead to "at least a temporary rise in inflation."

President Donald Trump on Friday urged Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut interest rates amid the stock market fallout from his large-scale reciprocal tariffs. "This would be a PERFECT time for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to cut Interest Rates," Trump posted on Truth Social. "He is always 'late,' but he could now change his image, and quickly. Energy prices are down, Interest Rates are down, Inflation is down, even Eggs are down 69%, and Jobs are UP, all within two months - A BIG WIN for America. CUT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!"

Powell cautioned that the Federal Reserve board will wait to see how Trump's tariff policies get implemented to decide whether to adjust interest rates. "To me, it's not clear what the appropriate path for monetary policy will be," Powell said. "And we're going to need to wait and see how this plays out before we can start to make those adjustments." The Fed chairman weighed in on the potential impact of tariffs two days after Trump unveiled a sweeping set of duties on imports from dozens of countries across the globe, including longtime economic allies and small countries that buy little from the United States. "We have stressed that it would be very difficult to assess the likely economic effects of higher tariffs until there is greater certainty about the details, such as what will be tariffed, at what level and for what duration, and the extent of any retaliation from our trading partners," he said. "While uncertainty remains elevated, it is now becoming clear that tariff increases will be significantly larger than expected, and the same is likely to be true of economic effects, which will include higher inflation. The size and duration of these facts remains uncertain." Trump's tariffs, ranging from a baseline of 10% for imports from Singapore to as high as 46% for goods made in Vietnam, have reverberated through the economy, causing a large selloff of stocks on Wall Street on Thursday that was worsening on Friday.