Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said yesterday, “I definitely see signs of softening” in the economy, with evidence “most pronounced in lower income households”.

“I expect inflation to come down but not immediately, not suddenly, and not predictably,” he said. “My expectations are it will be a slower path rather than an immediate path down to 2%.”

Barkin also said he’s open to a 50bps or 75bps hike in July. “I am one of the guys who like the option value of deciding the week of the meeting as opposed to two weeks before the meeting. But I thought Jay’s (Fed Chair Jerome Powell) guidance the last time was very sound,” he added.

Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic said yesterday, “the data that came in the last several months really pointed to a need for us to get closer to that neutral stance faster,”

“I’m confident that the economy will be able to withstand this next move. I would support a 75 basis point” rate hike at the July FOMC meeting, he added.

Beyond July, the decisions will depend on incoming economic data. “If demand comes down much faster than we expected or supply comes back, I will be comfortable pulling off” further rate increases, Bostic said.

Separately, St. Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard said, “now we have lots of inflation, but the question is, can we get back to 2% without disrupting the economy? I think we can.”

Kansas City Fed president Esther George said, “this is already a historically swift pace of rate increases for households and businesses to adapt to, and more abrupt changes in interest rates could create strains, either in the economy or financial markets,”

“I find it remarkable that just four months after beginning to raise rates, there is growing discussion of recession risk, and some forecasts are predicting interest rate cuts as soon as next year. Such projections suggest to me that a rapid pace of rate increases brings about the risk of tightening policy more quickly than the economy and markets can adjust,” she added.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard “I think it would make a lot of sense to go with the 75 at this juncture”, referring to the rate hike in this month’s FOMC meeting.

“I’ve advocated and continue to advocate getting to 3.5% this year, then we can see where we are and see how inflation’s developing at that point,” he added.

On the economy, Bullard said, there is a “a good chance of a soft landing.” “At this point, it appears that the GDI (gross domestic income) measure is more consistent with observed labor markets, suggesting the economy continues to grow.”

Fed Governor Christopher Waller said yesterday, “we need to move to a much more restrictive setting” and do that “as quickly as possible.”

“I’m definitely in support of doing another 75 basis point hike in July, probably 50 in September, and then after that we can debate whether to go back down to 25s,” he added.

“Inflation is a tax on economic activity, and the higher the tax the more it suppresses economic activity,” Waller warned. “If we don’t get inflation under control, inflation on its own can place us in a really bad economic outcome down the road.”