Fed Holds Rates as Window for Another Powell Cut Begins to Close

Jerome Powell has two more opportunities to adjust interest rates before his term as Federal Reserve chair ends — and he may not need them.

After the Fed kept borrowing costs on hold Wednesday, Powell talked up a “clear improvement” in the US outlook and said the job market shows signs of steadying. It signals a cautious optimism: Fed officials delivered three cuts last fall, and see nothing in the latest data to suggest more are needed to prop up the economy. Futures markets expect no shift in rates before June.

By then, Powell’s term as chair will have ended ...