Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the need for a wait-and-see approach during a press conference following the committee's policy announcement.

A prominent House Republican who is in charge of a monetary policy task force told Yahoo Finance he still supports Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair on a day when President Trump once again criticized the central bank boss for not lowering interest rates.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell kicked off his post-meeting press conference by saying the central bank remains “squarely focused” on its dual mandate, and the Fed held rates steady because “the risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that the contraction in the U.S. economy in the first quarter was notable, but ultimately didn’t indicate that it was enough of a concern to push policymakers to cut rates.

President Trump repeated his call for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates after April's inflation report was cooler than expected.

Earnings: Cisco Systems reports earnings after the bell. Fed Speakers: Governor Christopher Waller and Vice Chair Philip Jefferson are due to speak. Thursday, May 15 Fed Speaker: Chair Jerome Powell is expected to give remarks around 8:40 a.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on May 7 said "the economy is doing fine" during a news conference after the Federal Open Market Committee announced it would keep its key rate steady at 4.25% to 4.5%.

The central bank held steady on rates, keeping them at a range of 4.25% to 4.5%, but highlighted rising inflation risk.