The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester revealed on Wednesday that she sees no “compelling” reason for the U.S. central bank to consider pausing its interest rate hikes during its next policy meeting.
“I don’t really see a compelling reason to pause,” Mester stated in an interview with the Financial Times. “I would see more of a compelling case for bringing the rates up and then holding for a while until you get less uncertain about where the economy is going.”
Mester’s comments come after several other Federal Reserve officials expressed an interest in at least considering a pause to interest rate hikes in June, at which point they would assess the progress that the Fed’s strict monetary policy has made in the battle against sustained inflation.
Since the start of the ongoing inflation crisis, the Federal Reserve has implemented ten consecutive monthly interest rate hikes. This agenda has managed to bring the U.S. policy rate to a 5.00%-5.25% range.
In Mester’s view, the recent U.S. debt ceiling agreement could also alleviate some financial pressure, thereby loosening the level of duty that falls on the shoulders of the central bank. The proposed legislation is set to put to a vote in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.