Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack said in an interview with Fox Business News on Monday that the Fed is “not there yet” on the inflation side of its mandate. She noted that while inflation has made progress toward the Fed’s 2% target, it is still too high.
Hammack described the U.S. economy as “really healthy” but acknowledged that many business plans are on pause amid elevated uncertainty, which has been weighing on investment. She said Fed policymakers are engaged in a great debate over the state of the economy and stressed that it’s important for the Fed to wait and see how new policies will impact inflation.
The official added that she believes that the Fed is “pretty close” to where the neutral rate is and said she does not see an imminent need to cut rates. However, Hammack made clear that if the Fed sees the economy weakening, it will, of course, respond.