"The increase in COVID cases in recent weeks, together with the emergence of the omicron option, was a risk for the forecast," Powell was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.
According to him, it is not yet possible to draw a conclusion about the impact of the omicron strain of the coronavirus on inflation and the unemployment rate in the United States.
Earlier, the United States Federal Reserve System presented a forecast for the country's gross domestic product for 2022.
The forecast for US GDP growth for 2021 is 5.5%, for 2022 this figure is 4%.