Fed's Powell: Private-sector forecasters see greater recession risk

By Michael S. Derby

April 4 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Friday the U.S. central bank doesn’t have a prediction of a downturn in its outlook but he recognized private-sector forecasters are shifting on that front.

“We don't make a probability forecast of how likely it is for there to be a recession, but many outside forecasters do and many of them have raised the likelihood, albeit from very low levels,” in the wake of the latest moves from the Trump administration on the trade front.

“Uncertainty is high,” Powell said, adding “what we've learned is that the tariffs are higher than anticipated, higher than almost all forecasters predicted” and that it is unclear right now how this all will play out.