The US dollar jumped as Powell said that a March cut isn’t the base case and that it’s unlikely they will get enough confidence to cut in March. He later added that if jobs are weak, the timeline for cuts could move up.
Prior to the FOMC statement, the market was pricing in a 62% chance of a cut in March. Fed funds futures are now showing a 38% chance of a cut in March.
In turn, the US dollar has shot to the highs of the day and the S&P 500 is at the lows, down 70 points or 1.4%.
The exact quote was:
“I don’t think it’s likely that the committee will reach a level of confidence by the time of the March meeting, to identify that March is the time to do that.”