Fed Chairman says low interest rates could last for years

Interest rates are likely to stay low for years as the economy fights its way back from the coronavirus pandemic, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said.

“We think that the economy’s going to need low interest rates, which support economic activity, for an extended period of time,” Powell told NPR in an interview after the nonfarm payrolls report was released earlier in the day. “It will be measured in years.”

“However long it takes, we’re going to be there. We’re not going to prematurely withdraw the support that we think the economy needs,” he added.

The statement aligns with comments from Powell and other Fed officials over the past week or so.