On August 27th, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell started the Jackson Hole Symposium with a positive note, telling policy makers he believes “substantial further progress” has been made on metrics and believes the time is right for the Fed to start tapering off some of its economic support. “My view is that the substantial further progress test has been met for inflation,” Powell said Friday. “There has also been clear progress toward maximum employment.”. The Fed has been making $120 billion in monthly asset purchases and $40 billion in agency mortgage-backed securities per month. The rising cases of the new delta variant could cause some issues, although July showed a strong employment report, Powell stated they are wary of rising delta variant cases and will adapt if need be, “We will be carefully assessing incoming data and the evolving risks,”. Powell assured that tapering off asset purchases doesn’t mean interest rates will increase.