Fed’s Barkin: I still see wage, inflation pressures

Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin speaks to the Economic Club of New York in New York City, U.S., Feb 8, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File photo

Price increase pressures still exist in the U.S. economy and it is too soon to predict when the Federal Reserve will be able to begin to cut its benchmark interest rate, Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin said on Friday.

“We’ll see,” Barkin said in an interview with broadcaster CNBC when asked about the possibility of interest rate reductions this year.

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“I’m still hopeful inflation is going to come down and if inflation normalizes then it makes the case for why you want to normalize rates, but to me it starts with inflation.”

Barkin added that he still sees “wage pressures, I still see inflation pressures…we just had a high inflation report yesterday… On the goods side inflation is settling. On the services side, not so much.”