Two Federal Reserve (Fed) officials suggested that policymakers may be close to completing a rate hike, with one not ruling out the possibility of further hikes until inflation falls more clearly.

 

"Bloomberg" reported that the Jackson Hole annual meeting of global central banks will be held this week. Boston Fed President Susan Collins said in an interview before the meeting that the Federal Reserve may need to increase interest rates additionally. , and may be very close to a level where it can stay for a long time.

 

Collins noted that he believed interest rates do need to stay at this level for a while, but declined to say where the specific high point would be, stressing that interest rates are close to their peak but may still need to increase a little further. Collins said the slowdown in the U.S. economy is still not enough to push inflation on a sustained downward path, suggesting that the Fed may still need to raise interest rates.

 

Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker reiterated that the Fed should keep interest rates at current levels while it assesses the impact of raising interest rates on the economy. Harker believes that the Fed has taken enough measures so far and should allow these actions to ferment for a while, which should effectively reduce inflation.

 

Central bankers from around the world gathered in Jackson Hole this week for their annual two-day meeting. The Fed raised interest rates to a range of 5.25-5.5% at its policy meeting in July this year, the highest in nearly 22 years. Fed officials still have plenty of economic data to assess before their next meeting in September, including the monthly jobs report and the latest inflation figures.

 

James Bullard, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, pointed out in an interview that the rebound in U.S. economic activity this summer may delay the Fed's plan to end interest rate increases. Bullard, who was seen as the "Eagle King" in the past, said that recession fears are overblown, that stronger inflation may require higher interest rates to combat, and that a re-accelerating economy could put upward pressure on inflation, which in turn Delay the Fed's policy shift plan.