03:17 PM EST, 11/07/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The results of the election, returning former President Donald Trump to the White House, is unlikely to impact near-term monetary policy decision, including the Dec. 17-18 meeting, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Thursday in a press conference after the central bank's policy meeting.

The Federal Open Market Committee lowered its target range for the federal funds rate to 4.50% to 4.75% at its meeting, as widely expected, and made few changes to its policy statement. There was no update to the Summary of Economic Projections at the meeting.

The FOMC said in its statement that in deciding future policy, it will take into consideration "a wide range of information, including readings on labor market conditions, inflation pressures and inflation expectations, and financial and international developments." Presumably, that would include fiscal policy as part of the discussion.

"Let me say in the near term the election will have no effects on our policy decisions," Powell said. "As you know, many, many things affect the economy and anyone who writes down forecasts in their job will tell you that the economy is quite difficult to forecast looking past the very near term."

Powell went on to say that the FOMC won't speculate or assume what policies the incoming Trump Administration would put into effect or what effects those policies will have on the economy.

"Now, just in principle, it's possible that any administration's policies or policies put in place by Congress could have economic effects that over time would matter for our pursuit of our dual mandate goals," Powell said. "So along with countless other factors, forecasts of those economic effects would be included in our models of the economy and would be taken into account through that channel."

Powell, as usual, did not comment on current fiscal policy or expectations of increased deficits in the next administration, emphasizing that the FOMC would take fiscal policy as one input among many.

Powell said that he would not resign if asked by President-Elect Trump, as suggested by some Trump advisors, and said that a president terminating or demoting is "not permitted under the law."