Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago president Austan Goolsbee told CNBC on Monday that monetary policy in the U.S. is restrictive and he is closet optimistic that we'll see improvement in inflation data and the Fed will get a little bit more confidence that inflation is returning to 2%.
The official also noted that the economy outside of inflation data is starting to show signs of cooling and added that slowing inflation data would open the door to an easier policy.
He warned that the Fed needs to consider whether the current high level of its interest rates is appropriate for the weakening economy. "If you're going to be extra restrictive for too long, you're going to have to start worrying about what's happening to the real economy," he argued.