来源:华尔街见闻
“如果经济保持稳健且通胀持续存在,美联储会改成更缓慢地降息;而如果劳动力市场意外走弱,或者通胀下降速度快于预期,也准备好激进降息来回应。”
9月18日周三,美联储主席鲍威尔的记者会释放出鹰派信号,美股在他讲话之处一度继续上涨,随后发现苗头不对而掉头下挫转跌,重回午盘前的低点,债市、黄金、汇市也180度大反转。
这主要是因为鲍威尔称美联储只是在“适度校准政策立场”,没有预先设定的政策路线,将继续在逐次会议上根据经济数据来做出决定,未来降息速度可快、可慢甚至还会暂停。
比如他提到了几个政策组合:如果经济保持稳健且通胀持续存在,美联储会改成更缓慢地降息;而如果劳动力市场意外走弱,或者通胀下降速度快于预期,也准备好激进降息来回应。
整体来说,鲍威尔意图打消市场人士对“大幅降息50个基点成为新常态”的激进押注。
以下为他在回答媒体提问前的讲稿全文(中英对照):
Good afternoon, my colleagues and I remain squarely focused on achieving our dual mandate goals of maximum employment and stable prices for the benefit of the American people.
下午好,我和我的同事们仍然专注于实现美联储的双重目标,即最大化就业和稳定物价,以造福美国人民。
Our economy is strong overall and has made significant progress toward our goals. Over the past two years, the labor market has cooled from its formerly overheated state. Inflation has eased substantially from a peak of 7% to an estimated 2.2% as of August, we‘re committed to maintaining our economy’s strength by supporting maximum employment and returning inflation to our 2% goal.
美国经济总体强劲,并已朝着我们的目标取得了重大进展。在过去两年中,劳动力市场已从之前的过热状态降温。截至8月,通货膨胀率已从7%的峰值大幅下降至8月份估计的2.2%。美联储致力于通过支持最大化就业和将通胀率恢复到2%的目标来保持经济强劲。
Today, the Federal Open Market Committee decided to reduce the degree of policy restraint by lowering our policy interest rate by a half percentage point. This decision reflects our growing confidence that with an appropriate recalibration of our policy stance, strength in the labor market can be maintained in a context of moderate growth and inflation moving sustainably down to 2%. We also decided to continue to reduce our securities holdings. I will have more to say about monetary policy after briefly reviewing economic developments.
今天,联邦公开市场委员会决定降低政策约束程度,将政策利率下调50个基点。这一决定反映出我们越来越有信心,只要适当校准我们的政策立场,劳动力市场的强劲势头就能在温和经济增通胀持续下降至2%的背景下保持下去。我们还决定继续缩表。在简要回顾经济发展情况后,我将就货币政策发表更多看法。
Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace. GDP rose at an annual rate of 2.2% in the first half of the year, and available data point to a roughly similar pace of growth this quarter. Growth of consumer spending has remained resilient, and investment in equipment and intangibles has picked up from its anemic pace last year. In the housing sector, investment fell back in the second quarter after rising strongly in the first. Improving supply conditions have supported resilient demand in the strong performance of the US economy over the past year. In our summary of economic projections, Committee participants generally expect GDP growth to remain solid, with a median projection of 2% over the next few years.
最近的指标显示,美国经济活动继续稳步增长。今年上半年,GDP以2.2%的年率增长,现有数据显示三季度的增长速度大致相同。消费支出增长保持韧性,设备和无形资产投资已从去年的疲软速度回升。在住房领域,投资在第一季度强劲增长后在第二季度回落。供应条件的改善支撑了美国经济在过去一年强劲表现中的韧性需求侧。在我们的经济预测摘要中,FOMC委员会参与者普遍预计美国GDP增长将保持稳健,未来几年的预测中值为2%。
In the labor market, conditions have continued to cool. Payroll job gains averaged 116,000 per month over the past three months, a notable step down from the pace seen earlier in the year. The unemployment rate has moved up, but remains low at 4.2%. Nominal wage growth has eased over the past year, and the jobs to workers gap has narrowed overall. A broad set of indicators suggest that conditions in the labor market are now less tight than just before the pandemic in 2019. The labor market is not a source of elevated in inflationary pressures. The median projection for the unemployment rate in the SEP is 4.4% at the end of this year, four tenths higher than projected in June.
劳动力市场情况持续降温。过去三个月,非农就业岗位平均每月增加11.6万个,与今年早些时候的速度相比明显放缓。失业率有所上升,但仍保持在4.2%的低位。名义工资增长在过去一年有所放缓,职位空缺与求职人数之间的差距总体上有所缩小。一系列指标表明,劳动力市场的紧张状况目前比2019年疫情爆发前有所缓解。劳动力市场并不是通胀压力高企的根源了。美联储经济预测中对今年年底的失业率中值预测为4.4%,比6月份的预测高出0.4个百分点。
Inflation has eased notably over the past two years, but remains above our longer run goal of 2%. Estimates based on the consumer price index and other data indicate that total PCE prices rose 2.2% over the 12 months, ending in August, and that excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core PCE prices rose 2.7%. Longer term inflation expectations appear to remain well anchored, as reflected in a broad range of surveys of households, businesses and forecasters, as well as measures from financial markets. The median projection in the SEP for total PCE inflation is 2.3% this year and 2.1% next year, somewhat lower than projected in June. Thereafter. The median projection is 2%.
过去两年通胀率明显下降,但仍高于我们2%的长期目标。根据消费者价格指数和其他数据估计,截至8月的12个月内,名义PCE价格将上涨2.2%,不包括波动较大的食品和能源类别,核心PCE价格将上涨2.7%。长期通胀预期似乎仍良好锚定,这反映在对家庭、企业和预测者的广泛调查以及金融市场的指标中。美联储经济预测中对今年PCE总通胀率的预测中值为2.3%,明年为2.1%,略低于6月份的预测。2026年及以后的预测中值为2%。
Our monetary policy actions are guided by our dual mandate to promote maximum employment and stable prices for the American people. For much of the past three years, inflation ran well above our 2% goal, and labor market conditions were extremely tight. Our primary focus had been on bringing down inflation, and appropriately so, we are acutely aware that high inflation imposes significant hardship as it erodes purchasing power, especially for those least able to meet the higher costs of essentials like food, housing and transportation. Our restrictive monetary policy has helped restore the balance between aggregate supply and demand, easing inflationary pressures and ensuring that inflation expectations remain well anchored.
我们的货币政策行动以促进美国人民充分就业和物价稳定为双重使命。在过去三年的大部分时间里,通货膨胀率远高于我们2%的目标,劳动力市场状况极其紧张。当时我们的主要重点是降低通胀率,这也是理所应当的,我们敏锐地意识到胀会造成重大困难,因为它会侵蚀购买力,尤其是对于那些最无力承担食品、住房和交通等必需品高成本的人来说。我们的限制性货币政策有助于恢复总供给和总需求之间的平衡,缓解通胀压力并确保通胀预期良好锚定。
Our patient approach over the past year has paid dividends. Inflation is now much closer to our objective, and we have gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2% . As inflation has declined, the labor market has cooled, the upside risks to inflation have diminished and the downside risks to employment have increased. We now see the risks to achieving our employment and inflation goals as roughly in balance, and we are attentive to the risks to both sides of our dual mandate in light of the progress on inflation in the balance of risks.
过去一年,我们耐心的策略已获得回报。通胀现在更接近我们的目标,我们更加确信通胀正持续向2%迈进。随着通胀下降,劳动力市场已经降温,通胀的上行风险减少,就业的下行风险增加。我们现在认为实现就业和通胀目标的风险大致平衡,鉴于风险平衡胀的进展,我们关注双重使命中各方目标面临的风险。
At today‘s meeting, the committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by a half percentage point to four and three quarters percent to 5%. This recalibration of our policy stance will help maintain the strength of the economy and the labor market, and will continue to enable further progress on inflation as we begin the process of moving toward a more neutral stance.
在今天的会议上,委员会决定将联邦基金利率目标区间下调50个基点,至4.75%到5%。这一政策立场的重新校准将有助于保持经济和劳动力市场的强劲,并将继续推动通胀进一步下降,同时我们正开始转向更中性的立场。
We are not on any preset course. We will continue to make our decisions meeting by meeting. We know that reducing policy restraint too quickly could hinder progress on inflation. At the same time, reducing restraint too slowly could unduly weaken economic activity and employment. In considering additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook and the balance of risks.
我们没有预先设定的政策路线,将继续在每次会议上做出决定。我们知道,过快减少政策限制可能会阻碍通胀降温的进展。同时,过慢减少限制可能会过度削弱经济活动和就业。在考虑对联邦基金利率目标区间进行额外调整时,委员会将仔细评估即将公布的数据、不断变化的前景和风险平衡。
In our Sep FOMC, participants wrote down their individual assessments of an ap0propriate path for the federal funds rate based on what each participant judges to be the most likely scenario going forward, if the economy evolves as expected. The median participant projects that the appropriate level of the federal funds rate will be 4.4% at the end of This year and 3.4% at the end of 2025. These median projections are lower than in June, consistent with the projections for lower inflation and higher unemployment as well as the changed balance of risks.
在我们9月份的FOMC会议上,参与官员们根据各自对未来最可能出现情况的判断,写下了他们对联邦基金利率适当路径的评估,前提是经济按预期发展。中位数预测是,联邦基金利率的适当水平在今年年底为4.4%,2025年底为3.4%。这些中位数预测低于6月份的预测,与通胀下降、失业率上升以及风险平衡变化的预测一致。
These projections, however, are not a committee plan or decision. As the economy evolves, monetary policy will adjust in order to best promote our maximum employment and price stability goals. If the economy remains solid and inflation persists, we can dial back policy restraint more slowly. If the labor market were to weaken unexpectedly, or inflation were to fall more quickly than anticipated, we are prepared to respond.
然而,这些预测并非委员会的计划或决定。随着经济的发展,货币政策将进行调整,以最好地促进我们的最大化就业和价格稳定目标。如果经济保持稳健且通胀持续存在,我们可以更缓慢地放松政策限制。如果劳动力市场意外走弱,或者通胀下降速度快于预期,我们也准备好做出回应。
Policy is well positioned to deal with the risks and uncertainties that we face in pursuing both sides of our dual mandate. The Fed has been assigned two goals for monetary policy, maximum employment and stable prices. We remain committed to supporting maximum employment, bringing inflation back down to our 2% goal, and keeping longer term inflation expectations well anchored. Our success in delivering on these goals matters to all Americans. We understand that our actions affect communities, families and businesses across the country. Everything we do is in service to our public mission. We at the Fed will do everything we can to achieve our maximum employment and price stability goals.
政策已准备好应对我们在履行双重使命时面临的风险和不确定性。美联储被赋予了两个货币政策目标:最大化就业和稳定物价。我们仍致力于支持充分就业,将通胀率降至2%的目标,并保持长期通胀预期良好锚定。我们能否成功实现这些目标对所有美国人来说都至关重要。我们明白,我们的行动会影响全美的社区、家庭和企业。我们所做的一切都是为了履行我们的公共使命。美联储将竭尽全力实现最大化就业和物价稳定的目标。