WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday signaled that the central bank would hold interest rates steady for now while the risks to the U.S. economic outlook remain.

"The FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) believes that the current stance of monetary policy will support continued economic growth, a strong labor market, and inflation returning to the Committee's symmetric 2 percent objective," Powell said at a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee, referring to the Fed's policy-making committee.

"As long as incoming information about the economy remains broadly consistent with this outlook, the current stance of monetary policy will likely remain appropriate," he said.

The Fed lowered interest rates three times in 2019, cutting the target range of the federal funds rate by 75 basis points to 1.5-1.75 percent. After wrapping up its first monetary policy meeting of 2020 in late January, the Fed left interest rates unchanged and maintained a wait-and-see stance.

Powell noted that some of the uncertainties around trade have diminished recently, but risks to the U.S. economic outlook remain, particularly from the novel coronavirus outbreak.

"We will be watching that carefully. And the question we will be asking is will these be persistent effects that could lead to a material reassessment of the outlook," he said.

Powell, who is set to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday, also called on Congress to reduce the federal budget deficit, which is expected to exceed 1 trillion U.S. dollars this year.

"Putting the federal budget on a sustainable path when the economy is strong would help ensure that policymakers have the space to use fiscal policy to assist in stabilizing the economy during a downturn," he said.

"A more sustainable federal budget could also support the economy's growth over the long term," the Fed chair said, adding that the current low interest rate environment may limit the ability of central banks to reduce rates enough to boost the economy.

Powell's remarks came after the central bank on Friday submitted its semi-annual monetary policy report to Congress. The Fed said in the report that the current stance of monetary policy was appropriate as downside risks to the U.S. economy had receded.

In recent weeks, several other Fed officials have expressed support for holding rates steady as the U.S. economy is in "good shape."

"My own view right now is that we should hold steady for a while and watch how developments and the data unfold before taking any more action," Patrick Harker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, said Monday at an event hosted by the University of Delaware.

James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, also said Tuesday that the Fed's three rate cuts in 2019 have caused a substantial easing in financial conditions and provided more accommodation to the economy.

But Bullard cautioned there are several factors that could affect a soft landing of the U.S. economy. "One question for 2020 is whether global trade policy uncertainty has sufficiently been dampened to now encourage global manufacturing," he said.

"Another question is whether interest-sensitive sectors in the U.S. will respond to the 2019 change in U.S. monetary policy," added the Fed official.

U.S. economic growth slowed to 2.3 percent in 2019 from 2.9 percent in 2018 amid uncertainty stemming from trade tensions and weakness in global growth.

About two-thirds of respondents expect inflation-adjusted U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) to increase by 1.1 percent to 2 percent over the next four quarters, according to a recent survey released by the National Association for Business Economics (NABE). Enditem

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