Fed's Powell says job and inflation goals are not yet in tension

By Michael S. Derby

NEW YORK, April 4 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Friday he does not see a conflict between the central bank’s mandates on jobs and inflation right now, and said if trouble did arise it would be tough for monetary policy.

Tension between getting inflation down to the 2% target while keeping the job market strong is “not what we’re seeing right now” and “you're not in a situation like we were in the 1970s where those two goals were really both pulling in opposite directions,” Powell said at an appearance before a conference of journalists.

“It's just very hard for a central bank” to face that sort of situation but “that's not the situation we're really in today.”