Policymakers will act 'as appropriate' to support economy, Fed's Powell says

The head of America's central bank appeared to open the door to the possibility of further easing monetary policy.

In a "rare" statement published in between regularly scheduled policy meetings, after the close of trading in London on 28 February, Federal Reserve president, Jerome Powell, said the US economy "remained strong".

Nevertheless, the Chinese coronavirus "posed evolving risks to economic activity" and rate-setters were closely monitoring the situation and would act as "appropriate to support the economy".