US debt on an unsustainable path, needs to be addressed, Fed's Powell says

WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that the growth of U.S. federal debt was on an unsustainable path and needed to be addressed, but that he had no expectations that it would a cause near-term negative market event.

Powell told a news conference that the level of debt was sustainable at the moment, "but the path is unsustainable and the sooner we work on it, the better."

"But you know, right now we're running a very large deficit at essentially full employment and so the fiscal picture needs to be addressed, and it's not really being addressed," Powell said.