Dallas Fed President Lori Logan said just now that she’s concerned that “very high” inflation isn’t declining fast enough yet to allow the Fed to halt its campaign to raise interest rates in June.
She added that the economic data that was issued a short while ago, or that was issued recently in general, does not justify the US Federal Reserve bypassing the interest rate hike again so far, at the next June meeting.
Meanwhile, Fed Chairman and Vice Presidential nominee Philip Jefferson said progress in inflation could slow, but said it was also too early in the policy tightening process to judge the full impact of the rapid interest rate increases the central bank has approved so far.
Jefferson said that inflation “remains very high and, by some measures, progress is slowing.”
“Outside of energy and food, progress in inflation remains challenging,” and in particular there were “no signs of significant decline” in the wide range of services other than housing, a large part of the economy where prices have risen rapidly.
But he also said the economy has “slowed dramatically” this year. While his baseline forecast does not include a recession, he said he expects job growth to slow and the unemployment rate to rise over time.
He said there could be more impact to come from the Fed’s higher interest rates so far, as well as potential “downside risks” from recent stresses in the banking industry.
Jefferson did not indicate a preference for keeping interest rates steady or going ahead with rate hikes at the Fed’s June meeting. But he said he would “look at all of these factors” in the context of jobs and inflation data yet to be released before the June 13-14 meeting.
