1053 GMT - U.S. consumer and business surveys have painted an anxious economic mood, but the underlying data haven't shown a serious economic slowdown yet. The Fed is unlikely to ease policy based on "soft data" alone--especially because soft data have incorrectly signaled an approaching recession in the recent past, such as during the Fed's 2022 inflation fight, Goldman Sachs economists write. The Fed "will want to see evidence from labor market and other hard data too before delivering rate cuts," Goldman's team writes. The investment bank--along with the rest of Wall Street--is confident the Fed will hold rates steady at its next policy decision Wednesday. (matt.grossman@wsj.com, @mattgrossman)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 05, 2025 06:53 ET (10:53 GMT)

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