"Rescue button" failed: Powell decided not to activate the optio

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When the economic outlook fell into an unprecedented fog, Fed Chairman Powell made a rare decision: not to activate the so-called "Fed put option" for the time being. Although the stock market crash has begun to erode household wealth and threaten economic activity, facing the chain reaction caused by Trump's tariff policy, Powell made it clear last Friday that it is not the time to rescue the market.

1. Changes in decision-making logic
In sharp contrast to the decisive style of saving the market with all efforts during the epidemic, fighting inflation in 2022, and saving Silicon Valley Bank in 2023, Powell chose to wait and see this time. "Many people, including us, are waiting and watching, and this seems to be the right thing to do in the face of increasing uncertainty," he explained. Although the non-farm data in March was strong, Powell emphasized that these data failed to reflect the impact of tariffs.
2. Controversy over the policy toolbox
"No Fed official will admit the existence of the 'Fed put option,'" former Fed Vice Chairman Alan Blinder pointed out, "but Wall Street has believed it for 40 years." Today, this policy tool, which is regarded as a life-saving straw by the market, is facing failure for the first time - at a time when inflation threats and economic recession risks coexist, interest rate cuts may be counterproductive.
3. Challenges of new crises
The current crisis is completely different from the historical pattern: it is not the impact of the epidemic, nor the supply chain disruption, but the tariff war initiated by the White House. JPMorgan Chase has lowered its US GDP growth forecast from 1.3% to -0.3%, while predicting that the unemployment rate will climb to 5.3%. Powell admitted: "The current impact may be higher inflation and higher unemployment - this is difficult for the central bank."
4. Troubled by contradictory signals
The Fed is caught in a dilemma: it must deal with the possible increase in inflation caused by tariffs, while being vigilant to the risk of economic growth stalling. "We are not in the 1970s," Powell said, but admitted that the current situation is equally tricky. Before the policy effect is clear, he prefers to remain patient: "I feel we don't need to be too anxious."
[Summary]
In this economic maze dominated by policy uncertainty, the Fed is rewriting its crisis response script. Powell's wait-and-see attitude marks the temporary end of the "Fed put option" era, and also reflects the limitations of the central bank in the face of economic shocks caused by political factors. When the White House's policy bullet hit the economic bull's eye, the Fed chose to let the bullet fly for a while - this decision itself may better illustrate the particularity of the current crisis than any interest rate cut. XAUUSD GOLD GOLD XAUUSD XAUUSD XAUUSD

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