U.S. F​ederal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell indicated Friday that the central bank is likely to begin withdrawing some of its easy-money policies, a process known as tapering, before the end of the year. 

In a highly anticipated speech to the Fed’s annual Jackson Hole symposium held virtually, Powell said the economy has reached a point where it no longer needs as much policy support.

He said that at the Federal Open Market Committee's recent July meeting, he was of the view, as were most participants, that if the economy evolved broadly as anticipated, it could be appropriate to start reducing the pace of asset purchases this year. 

The Fed chairman went on to say the central bank will carefully assess incoming data and evolving risks, mentioning a strong employment report for July and the further spread of the delta variant. 

His remark implies support for tapering to begin this year, but a final decision will be made based on the pandemic situation and a recovery in employment. 

But the chairman stressed that tapering does not mean that interest rate increases are imminent, saying he still sees rate hikes off in the distance.

He said the timing and pace of the coming reduction in asset purchases will not be intended to carry a direct signal regarding the timing of an interest rate hike, for which he said the Fed has articulated a different and substantially more stringent test.