Jerome Powell, chairman for the Federal Reserve, spoke on Wednesday before Congress about the central bank’s policy plans.

At the hearing, Chairman Powell said that the bank was waiting to see a 2% inflation rate and that this objective was not sure yet. He said that continued progress toward that goal was not certain at this time, and that it would not be sensible to cut interest rates until the bank saw the desired inflation rate.

However, interest rate cuts are expected later on in the year, according to Powell. Even though inflation has eased up, with noticeable changes, the labor market is still in a tight spot. The good news is that there were no major increases in unemployment, and immigration has helped provide workers for the job market, but it was still too early to say that inflation was where the bank wanted to see it at.

These are the same statements that the Federal Reserve has said already this year, and that means no policy change yet. Powell is expected to speak again on Thursday before Congress and provide further details as to the central bank’s policy for the year.

The Market Reacts

As a result of the Fed’s remarks, the stock markets rose slightly. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 200 points. Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.5% in response.

The stock markets should continue to benefit from the lack of interest rate cuts. As long as interest rates remain at the current level, the dollar will continue to retain value based on that factor, helping the markets stay buoyant.

Gold rose to $2,14 per troy ounce, up 0.8% for the day. That was a record high for the commodity, surpassing the previous record that had been set last December.

Crude oil is down 0.88% to $78.78 for Thursday and may continue to drop as the Fed testifies before Congress again.