Finance

Fed/ Bowman: Needs more rate hikes

Michelle Bowman, a member of the US Federal Reserve’s board of directors, said the central bank has more work to do to curb inflation, adding that more rate hikes are needed and that officials are trying to stabilize prices.

“In recent months, we’ve seen declines in a number of inflation metrics, but we still have a lot of work to do, so as we noted after our December meeting, the FOMC has decided to cut interest rates to tighten monetary policy,” Bowman said at an event with the Florida Bankers Association in Miami on Tuesday. I expect it to continue to increase.”

Policy makers are trying to suppress inflation, which rose to a four-year high last year, giving the message that they have not finished their tightening policy. Officials unanimously approved a half-point increase in December, bringing the benchmark interest rate target to a range of 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent.

New economic assumptions announced at the meeting showed 17 of 19 Fed officials have seen rates rise above 5 percent this year. No politician expects to lower interest rates in 2023. Officials will hold the next meeting in mid-January 31-February 20.

Bowman stated that the scale of future interest rate movements and the point at which authorities will stop interest rate hikes will be determined according to what is happening in inflation, adding that he wants to see “convincing signs that inflation is peaking” and is looking for “consistent” evidence that this is happening.