Thomas Barkin delivered his first speech as Richmond Fed President overnight and expressed his support for more rate hikes ahead. But he declined to comment on how many hikes this year he expects.

He noted that “monetary policy is still pretty accommodative”. And, “when unemployment is low and inflation is effectively at our target, we probably ought to go to neutral in that environment.” Also, “the economy’s performance as we sit here today is remarkably strong: above trend growth, low unemployment, inflation at target.”

But Barkin also warned on the risks from the trade tensions between US and other countries. He said it’s “not clear what’s going to be implemented in the end” regarding tariffs. But “there is an issue on business confidence and the business people that I talk to who were almost euphoric in January are now nervous. And they’re nervous about where the macroeconomy is going.”

Philadelphia Fed Bank President Patrick Harker expressed his support for raising interest rates above 5% and then assessing the impact on inflation. He noted yesterday, “I’m in the camp of getting up above 5 and then sitting there for a while.”

Harker acknowledged that recent inflation readings showed a slow disinflation process, which he described as “disappointing.” Despite this, he pointed out promising signs that Fed’s rate hikes are working.

He stated, “If we see inflation not budging, then I think we’ll have to take more action. But at this point, I don’t see why we would just continue to go up, up, up and then go, whoops! And then go down, down, down very quickly. Let’s sit there.”

Harker also emphasized the commitment to bringing inflation back down to the 2% target and highlighted that the full impact of monetary policy actions could take up to 18 months to work through the economy. He said, “We will continue to look closely at available data to determine what, if any, additional actions we may need to take.”

Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said yesterday, “I anticipate a sequence of increases in the funds rate at a measured pace until we are confident that inflation is moving toward the Committee’s inflation target.”

“I still am in the camp that we can have, if not a soft landing, a safe landing,” he said. He expected the economy to grow between 2% and 3% this year, adding that “this economy can withstand a measured, methodical approach to tightening financial conditions.”