Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack stated in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the monetary policy in the U.S. is only moderately restrictive at present. She emphasised that while there has been amazing progress on inflation, it remains a problem.
Hammack noted that restrictive policy is still needed for some period of time to control inflation.
Cleveland Fed's chief also highlighted the ongoing rate-of-change problem that needs to be addressed to stabilise the economy.
Hammack mentioned that she had deemed a 75-basis-point rate cut for 2024 appropriate back in September. However, she warned that tariffs could further complicate the inflation outlook. "We can be very patient in considering future rate cuts," she concluded.