Richmond Fed President Thomas said yesterday that he is unconvinced that inflation will taper off rapidly with only a marginal economic slowdown. Barkin stated, “You could tell yourself a story where inflation comes down relatively quickly … with only a modest economic slowdown.”

He quickly added, “But I’m not yet convinced … I do wonder whether we’re not going to need more impact on demand to bring inflation down to where we need to go.”

Barkin stayed open-minded about Fed’s policy direction at the upcoming June 13-14 meeting. Despite having raised the policy rate by 5 percentage points since March 2022, Barkin isn’t ruling out the possibility of another hike.

In terms of the labor market, Barkin noted the shift from what he described as “red hot” to merely “hot.” He asserted, “On the unemployment side, I think you could fairly say it’s moved from red hot to hot, right? There’s nothing about 3.4% unemployment that feels … cool.”

Despite the gradual effects of rate hikes beginning to show, Barkin emphasized that the job market remains robust and inflation persistent. He admitted, “I’m still seeing data that suggests a hot job market and enduring inflation,” leading him to believe inflation could persist longer than market measures suggest. Therefore, he concluded, “I’m still looking to ask myself the question whether we need to do more.”

Separately, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said the central bank probably has “more work to do on our end, to try to bring inflation back down,” adding that “we should not be fooled by a few months of positive data.”

In an interview with CNBC, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee noted that the full impact of the 500 basis points increase executed over the past year has yet to fully materialize. He expressed concern over the tight credit conditions that currently prevail and urged careful monitoring of the economic landscape.

Goolsbee mentioned that his support for a rate hike earlier this month was a “close call.” He stated, “The thing that made it a close call for me is this big question mark about what is going to be the impact of this on credit conditions.”

In an interview with CNBC, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic emphasized the importance of combating inflation, which he deems as “job No. 1”. He expressed his readiness to bear the cost necessary to achieve the Fed’s target, underscoring the need for a more aggressive stance on rate hikes given the current economic scenario.

Bostic stated, “What we’ve seen is that inflation has been persistently high, consumers have been really resilient in terms of their spending, and labor markets remain extremely tight. All of those suggests that there’s still going to be upward pressure on prices.” His comments highlight the ongoing pressures that may trigger further inflationary spikes.

He showcased leaning towards a proactive approach in dealing with inflation, stating, “If there’s going to be a bias to action, for me it would be a bias to increase a little further as opposed to cut.”

Bostic remained confident in Fed’s policy measures, asserting, “There’s still a lot of confidence that our policies are going to be able to get inflation back down to our 2% target.” He made clear Fed’s determination to ensure this target is met, even if it means holding off on rate cuts until well into 2024.

Fed Governor Michelle Bowman highlighted concerns over persistently high inflation and a tight labor market. In a speech, she suggested the need for additional monetary policy tightening should these conditions persist.

She stated, “The most recent CPI and employment reports have not provided consistent evidence that inflation is on a downward path, and I will continue to closely monitor the incoming data as I consider the appropriate stance of monetary policy going into our June meeting.”

She emphasized the necessity of a “sufficiently restrictive” policy stance to curtail inflation over time, especially if inflation remains elevated and the labor market continues to be tight.

She further added, “I also expect that our policy rate will need to remain sufficiently restrictive for some time to bring inflation down and create conditions that will support a sustainably strong labor market.”

Despite her clear inclination towards policy tightening, Governor Bowman was careful to stress the uncertainty of economic outlook and the adaptability of Fed’s policy actions.

“Of course, the economic outlook is uncertain and our policy actions are not on a preset course,” she concluded, indicating Fed’s readiness to adjust its approach as necessary in response to evolving economic conditions.

Full speech of Fed Bowman here.