Richmond Fed president Tom Barkin said he was “in concept supportive of a path that is slower but longer and potentially higher” depending on how inflation behaves.
But he cautioned that while the average inflation dropped, “the median stayed high. He said. “That’s because the average was distorted by declining prices for goods like used cars that escalated unsustainably during the pandemic.”
Regarding the median inflation rate, “if the center of the distribution remains above our target, then I think we should continue to move rates,” he said. “Inflation is going to be more persistent than a simple drop down to 2%.”
