Markets Surprisingly Surprised by Unsurprising Powell Comments

Markets Surprisingly Surprised by Unsurprising Powell Comments

We were pretty sure we knew what Powell would generally say in today's press conference.  He turned out to be generally predictable.  After all, there are really only two things the Fed can think or say right now: A) still need to see more progress on inflation and B) data will determine when our job is done.  Despite Powell's unsurprising comments, the market was apparently surprised (or relieved?).  This is surprising considering the simple list of routes in the Fed playbook.  Perhaps it's as simple as the market being overly prepared for a Hawkish smackdown from Powell and instead getting a logical approach.