The Fed recently made an expected 25 basis point cut. However, in a statement after the meeting, Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned that the road ahead would be challenging.
Powell, in his speech on September 23, stated that the two-sided risk remains, saying, “The short-term risks to inflation are to the upside, and the risks to employment are to the downside, and that’s a challenging situation.”
The Fed is Going Through a Difficult Period!
Following Powell’s statements, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack also made similar statements.
Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Hammack said the Fed faces challenges trying to balance fighting stubborn inflation with protecting jobs.
Hammack stated that the FED is going through a difficult period and that the institution is stuck between inflation and the job market.
“The Fed is working to reduce inflation to its 2% target while continuing its mission to improve the labor market.
The Fed is stuck between its two tasks.”
At this point, the FED member stated that they are going through a difficult period in terms of monetary policy and said that they need to maintain a restrictive policy stance in order to bring inflation back to the 2 percent target.
Hammack, who recently stated that they have not been able to reach the 2 percent inflation target for 4.5 years, expressed his concern about inflation.
When asked whether cutting interest rates was a mistake, he said, “We have a 2% inflation target, but we still haven’t reached it in 4.5 years. I have concerns about this. There’s no clear answer yet to the question of whether cutting interest rates was a mistake. We’re going through a difficult period.”
Hammack recently predicted that the Fed’s 2% inflation target would likely be reached by the end of 2027 or early 2028, with inflation remaining above target for the next one to two years.
*This is not investment advice.