U.S. rate cut 'speed control theory'...Trump "needs to cut"

[Anchor]
The U.S. Federal Reserve is considering adjusting the pace of its key rate cut in December as U.S. retail sales beat expectations and the economy looks solid.

As Trump has presented a rate cut as an urgent task, he is interested in how the timing and speed of the rate cut will be determined.

I'm correspondent Lee Seung-yoon from New York.

[Reporter]
Shoppers are busy visiting the New York department store in the U.S.

U.S. retail sales rose 0.4% month-on-month to $718.9 billion in October, beating expert forecasts.

This means that consumption, the backbone of the U.S. economy, is solid despite concerns about a slowdown in the economy amid high interest rates.

Annual U.S. consumer and producer inflation in October was also in line with expert expectations, and new unemployment claims were also at their lowest level in half a year.

As prices and employment stabilized, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested a rate control theory, saying the economy is performing well.

[Jerome Powell / U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman: The U.S. economy is not sending any signals that it needs to hurry to cut interest rates. The strength we are currently seeing in the U.S. economy gives us the ability to approach monetary policy decisions carefully.]

During the presidential campaign, President-elect Donald Trump has presented interest rate cuts as an urgent task, along with falling energy prices.

[Donald Trump / President-elect of the United States (last month, 23rd): The interest rate was 2%, now it's 10%, money is not available. We will drill for gas and oil. That will lower everything.]

Members of the Federal Open Market Committee are calling for a cautious approach to rate cuts.

In monetary policy, centrist Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Governor Susan Collins also said it was appropriate to slow the pace of rate cuts further.

John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, also said that the timing of the rate cut should be determined based on economic indicators.

Experts say that even if a rate cut takes place in December, the pace of the rate cut is likely to slow down from next year as this pace-control theory gains momentum.

I'm YTN's Lee Seungyoon from New York.