U.S. Federal Reserve officials stated on Friday that they believe that the central bank’s interest rate policy has been advancing in the right direction in the fight against inflation. This comes after the Fed raised its target range for the benchmark rate to 5%-5.25% at its policy meeting last week.
Fed Governor Philip Jefferson believes that the central bank is doing what is required of it despite inflation remaining high. He expressed his view on the matter at a monetary policy conference at the Hoover Institution.
“Is inflation still too high? Yes,” Jefferson commented. “Has the current disinflation been uneven and slower than any of us would like? Yes. But my reading of this evidence is that we are ‘doing what is necessary or expected’ of us,” which is the dictionary definition, he said, of being “on track.”
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard agreed with Jefferson’s sentiment, expressing his view at the same event. “The prospects for continued disinflation are pretty good,” Bullard commented, explaining that his confidence is growing as inflation continues to be stabilized near the Fed’s 2% target.