Richmond Fed president urges caution on interest rate cuts because inflation isn't defeated

WASHINGTON (AP) — The president of the Federal Reserve's Richmond branch says he supports reducing the central bank's key interest rate “somewhat” from its current level but isn't yet ready for the Fed to fully take its foot off the economy's brakes.

In an interview Thursday with The Associated Press, Tom Barkin also said the economy is showing “impressive strength," highlighting recent solid reports on retail sales, unemployment claims, and growth in the April-June quarter, which reached a healthy 3%.

“With inflation and unemployment being so close to normal levels, it’s okay to dial back the level of restraint, somewhat,” Barkin said, referring to cuts to the Fed's key interest rate. “I’m not yet ready to declare victory on inflation. And so I wouldn’t dial it back all the way" to a level that no longer restricts the economy, which economists refer to as “neutral.” Estimates of neutral are currently about 3% to 3.5%, much lower than the benchmark rate's current level of 4.8%.

Barkin's caution stands in contrast to some of his fellow Fed policymakers who have expressed more urgency about rate cuts. Fed Governor Adriana Kugler on Wednesday said she “strongly supported” the Fed's larger-than-usual half-point rate cut last week, from a two-decade high of 5.3%, and added that she would support “additional cuts” as long as inflation continues to decline.