Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell showed he will be guidedby the U.S. economy's performance, rather than the theories andmodels his predecessors have relied on to set monetary policyfor the past three decades.

Fresh from overseeing his first policy-setting meeting and itsfirst interest rate hike of 2018, Powell signaled he won't try toguess the limits of the labor market or the growth-boosting effectsof Republican tax cuts.

His message: He'll know the economy is changing when he sees it.“There is no sense in the data that we are on the cusp of anacceleration of inflation,” Powell told reporters on Wednesday inWashington. “We have seen moderate increases in wages and priceinflation, and we seem to be seeing more of that.”