Fed’s Hammack: Work to bring inflation to target not complete

By Michael S. Derby

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack said Thursday inflation pressures have been easing but still have yet to return to where they need to be.

“We have made good progress but inflation is still running above the [Federal Open Market Committee’s] 2% objective,” Hammack said at conference on inflation issues held by her bank. She did not offer a view on what she believes monetary policy should do in the future. She did note Fed rate hikes between the spring of 2022 and the summer of 2023 played a role in lowering inflation.

Echoing recent comments by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, Hammack, who is the newest regional Fed bank president, said that despite progress on getting price pressures down it is too soon to say the job is done.

Hammack noted “it has not been a straight line of progress towards returning inflation to our 2% goal,” while adding after an uneven start to the year, “in recent months, the readings have generally improved since its peak in June of 2022.”

The policymaker also noted “remarkably, this disinflation process has progressed with notable strength in the labor market and the economy in general.”