KONTAN.CO.ID - RICHMOND. The U.S. central bank has "time for the clouds to clear" on inflation before starting to cut interest rates, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said on Thursday, comments that endorsed a careful approach to the start of a monetary easing cycle. Inflation data at the start of this year "has been a little less encouraging," Barkin told the Home Building Association of Richmond, and while that may be a result of weather-related or seasonal issues "it does raise the question of whether we are seeing a real shift in the economic outlook, or merely a bump along the way." "I think it is smart for the Fed to take our time," said Barkin, who is a voting member of the Fed's policy-setting committee this year.
Fed has Time to Mull Rate Cut in Face of Less Encouraging Data, Barkin Says
KONTAN.CO.ID - RICHMOND. The U.S. central bank has "time for the clouds to clear" on inflation before starting to cut interest rates, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said on Thursday, comments that endorsed a careful approach to the start of a monetary easing cycle. Inflation data at the start of this year "has been a little less encouraging," Barkin told the Home Building Association of Richmond, and while that may be a result of weather-related or seasonal issues "it does raise the question of whether we are seeing a real shift in the economic outlook, or merely a bump along the way." "I think it is smart for the Fed to take our time," said Barkin, who is a voting member of the Fed's policy-setting committee this year.