The US economy is turning the corner, thanks to government support and a turbo-charged campaign to vaccinate Americans against COVID-19, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a new interview.

The chairman of the US Federal Reserve Bank said that the country's economic outlook has “brightened substantially," but warned that potential risks from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic remain.

Chairman Powell said the economy was at an “inflection point" because of "widespread vaccination and strong fiscal support, strong monetary policy support." “I'd say that we and a lot of private sector forecasters see strong growth and strong job creation starting right now."

“What we’re seeing now is really an economy that seems to be at an inflection point,” Powell said.”

“We feel like we’re at a place where the economy’s about to start growing much more quickly and job creation coming in much more quickly,” Powell said.

“So the principal risk to our economy right now is that we will reopen too quickly, people will too quickly return to their old practices, and we'll see another spike in cases. It’s going to be smart if people can continue to socially distance and wear masks. I think with vaccination, it shouldn't have the kind of effect that the other spikes have had. And the economy should move ahead. But it can move ahead more quickly to the extent we keep the spread of COVID under control."

According to Powell, most experts project growth for this year to be “in the range of 6% or 7%" - which he said would be “the highest level in, you know, 30 years." Those Powell’s comments come as US stock indices are at record levels, due in part to optimism about the reopening of the economy, and the country’s souped-up effort to inoculate Americans, with nearly every state making all adults over 16 years old eligible for the COVID vaccine.

Powell, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, has been a key figure in the economic turnaround. Under Powell, the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rate to near zero last March and deployed massive emergency lending programs.

Powell has said the Fed is unlikely to raise rates until the economy is fully recovered, even if inflation rises moderately above its 2 percent target.

Powell has also been supportive of the government’s aggressive spending programs under both Trump and President Biden to stem the fallout from the public health crisis.

Source: Various