It's appropriate to consider a faster pace of tapering, says Fed Chair Jay Powell in Congressional testimony.
Money quote: "The economy is very strong and inflationary pressures are high, and it is therefore appropriate in my view to consider wrapping up the taper of our asset purchases, which we actually announced at the November meeting, perhaps a few months sooner."
The Fed's policy-setting arm will discuss in December whether it will end the taper a few months earlier than originally planned. "We'll discuss a somewhat faster taper at our next meeting," he said.
Earlier in the hearing, Powell said it was time to "retire" the word "transitory," when talking about the inflation picture.
10-year Treasury yields, which had bounced back to about flat on the session heading to 11:00 AM ET, slips back to 1.45%, off ~5 basis points.
Heading toward noon New York time, the 30-year Treasury yield slides to 1.775%, the lowest level since January. The Nasdaq (COMP.IND)slides 1.9%, the S&P (SP500) and Dow (DJI) each fall 1.8%.
All 11 of the S&P 500 industry sectors are in the red, with Communications Services (-2.0%) falling the most.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) had climbed over $59K earlier, but has plunged back to $57K.