BlockBeats News, February 25th – Boston Fed President Susan Collins stated that given recent economic data showing improvement in the labor market, and persistent inflation risks, interest rates are likely to remain unchanged “for a period of time.”
Collins said during a panel discussion hosted by the Boston Fed on Tuesday that the labor market is showing “at least somewhat more unusual signs of stability.” She also noted that more evidence is needed to indicate that the inflation rate is moving toward the 2% target.
“I think it is likely appropriate to keep the current rate range unchanged for a period of time,” she said. “After cumulatively easing 175 basis points over the past year and a half, we are currently in a mildly restrictive range, which may be quite close to a neutral level.”
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said it is not appropriate to further lower interest rates until there is more evidence that inflation is consistently falling.
Goolsbee stated that the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn several of Trump’s global tariffs may bring more uncertainty to businesses but could also help curb inflation.
Goolsbee said during a speech at the National Association for Business Economics conference on Tuesday that he wants to see evidence of inflation cooling to the Fed’s 2% target before supporting further rate cuts.
