Warsh at Jackson Hole: 'We have work to do' on inflaiton

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh says the central bank’s “predominant focus” right now should be on inflation.

“The responsibility for 65 months of sustained, elevated inflation sits squarely with the central bank,” said Warsh, delivering his keynote address at the Kansas City’s Fed Jackson Hole symposium.

“We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at sufficient speed. Otherwise, we have work to do. That’s our job . . . our mandate . . . and our charge to keep.”

Bitcoin is headed lower on the hawkish remarks, dipping to $78,700. U.S. stocks are down modestly, and bond yields are headed slightly higher.

Warsh’s speech was highly anticipated, as the Kansas City Fed’s annual Jackson Hole symposium has often been an occasion for U.S. central bank chiefs to prep markets for key policy changes.

Making his remarks today even more interesting was Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s promise last week to intervene in the bond market to try to cap or lower long-term interest rates. Warsh has been a proponent of letting the market dictate where rates are headed, but Bessent suggested inefficiencies in the market mechanism were forcing long-term bond yields to be higher than they otherwise might be.