Global stock indexes fell on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the fight to lower inflation still has a “long way” to go, while grains prices jumped on worries about crop shortfalls around the globe.
The U.S. dollar was lower and Treasury yields were little changed.
After lifting interest rates by 5 percentage points since March 2022, the Fed this month took a breather to assess the effects of its actions. Investors broadly expect increases to resume at the Fed’s July meeting.