US economy no longer overheated, Fed's Powell tells Congress

WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. is "no longer an overheated economy" with a job market that has "cooled considerably" from its pandemic-era extremes and in many ways is back where it was before the health crisis, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in remarks to Congress that suggested the case for interest rate cuts is becoming stronger.

"We are well aware that we now face two-sided risks," and can no longer focus solely on inflation that nevertheless still "remains above" the central bank's 2% target, Powell told the Senate Banking committee on Tuesday. "The labor market appears to be fully back in balance."