Bitcoin Increases to $23.3K as Powell Reiterates 2% Inflation Target

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell spoke more on the future direction of monetary policy following an unexpectedly strong U.S. jobs report on Friday.

Here’s what he had to say:

• During an interview, Powell reiterated his comments from last week that the economy’s disinflation is still within its very early stages – particularly in the housing sector. 
• Friday’s jobs report, which showed over 500,000 jobs created in December, reiterated that point. “It kind of shows you why we think that this would be a process that takes a significant period of time,” he said.
• The chairman reiterated that a 2% inflation rate will remain the Federal Reserve’s target and that they won’t compromise for a higher number. However, he believes that goal won’t be reached until at least 2024. 
• As of Monday, the Federal Reserve had $8.4 trillion of assets on its balance sheet. While the central bank is in the process of shrinking its balance sheet, Powell believes it will take “a couple of years” before reserves within reserve banks reach an “ample” level.
• Jerome Powell said he thinks the United States, which is currently under $31.4 trillion of debt, should raise its debt ceiling. He said the Fed will be unable to shield the economy if the government fails to do so. 
• “This really can only end one way, and that is with congress raising the debt ceiling in a timely fashion so that the U.S. can pay all of its bills when and as due,” he elaborated. 
• During the talk, Bitcoin’s price jumped from $22,919 to $23,307 within 30 minutes, before retracing back to $22,850 at writing time.