JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said Friday that inflation is still too high and suggested the central bank may have to raise interest rates in the coming months to bring it down, a clearer signal than he had sent previously about his economic outlook. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
In his first high-profile speech at the Fed’s annual conference at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Warsh acknowledged in prepared remarks that recent inflation reports show it has cooled a bit, but “they do not tell me that underlying trends have meaningfully improved.”
“We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at sufficient speed,” Warsh said. “Otherwise, we have work to do.”
The Fed chair, who replaced his predecessor, Jerome Powell, May 22, is facing high stakes with his speech as questions have swirled around Wall Street about his focus on fighting inflation.
Those concerns may have contributed to rising bond yields. Warsh has said he doesn’t want to provide what analysts call “forward guidance” about whether the Fed will hike or cut rates or stay on hold at upcoming meetings. He argues that it limits the Fed.