Fed Chair Jerome Powell said tariff concerns delayed interest rate cuts, stating the central bank would have likely reduced rates this year if not for potential consumer price hikes.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell says tariffs have prevented the rate cuts President Trump badly wants. The Fed remains in wait-and-see mode as it updates its inflation and economic outlook.

When asked Tuesday if Trump’s tariffs held up the Fed’s plan to cut interest rates, Powell affirmed. “I think that’s right,” he said at a central banking conference in Portugal.