Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said in a speech, while inflation has run below the 2% target it is “not that far-off target”. “With rounding, you could even call it on target.” The new framework allows “only a moderate” overshoot in inflation. “That moderation limits the risk of de-anchoring while sending a positive signal on inflation.”

He added that recent pick up in inflation is “just a natural rebound from a deflationary second quarter.”. While it’s possible that inflation could escalate in the near future, “I have to say I’m less worried about that possibility.” And, should inflation emerge, the Fed has the tools and the will to address it.”

Barkin’s full speech here.

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans warned, “we are taking a very serious and unnecessary risk if we do not extend federal assistance to out-of-work households.” He added, “the potential hole in aggregate demand may be large, and in my view more fiscal relief is needed in order to limit further damage to households and businesses, especially those in vulnerable communities.”

“The longer the dual challenges of the pandemic and recession continue, the greater is the risk of deepening the already stark inequities in our economy,” he added.

New York Fed President John Williams said, “Structural inequality stifles growth, but there is no single silver bullet that can solve the problems laid bare by the pandemic”. “There is so much work that needs to be done to make sure that we are fostering an equitable recovery and ensuring that everyone is able to fulfill their economic potential,” he said.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said the US economy may rebound at a 35% annualized rate in Q3. Additionally, the strong rebound in Q3 “may put the U.S. economy within reach of a sort of ‘full recovery’ by the end of 2020.” With another 10% growth in Q4, the national income could be in reach of 2019 average.

“These are big numbers, but not outside the realm of possibility,” he said. “I expect this rebound to continue in the U.S. as businesses learn how to produce products and services safely using simple, existing technology.”

Nevertheless, “Fed policy would be the same regardless of how optimistic or less optimistic you might be about the outlook,” he said. “I don’t think it’s that reasonable to expect a second-wave scenario to be the one that would dominate your forecasts.”

Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren told Yahoo Finance that he had “somewhat more pessimistic forecast” than his FOMC colleagues. He doesn’t expect unemployment rate to get below 6% by the end of next year.

He noted, “I am very worried that we’re pretty far away from what we think of maximum employment and I think they’re going to be significant headwinds to getting there quickly.”

On policy support, he noted that 10-year yield is below 70 basis points, “well below the lowest level” in the middle of the 2008/9 financial crisis. So, more quantitative easing might not be “nearly as supportive” as fiscal policy.

Fed Governor Randal Quarles said yesteday, “although we have seen the beginnings of a strong recovery, even optimistic forecasts suggest that it will take a long time to recover fully from this shock.”

“By providing additional monetary policy accommodation through stronger, outcomes-based forward guidance, the hopes to quicken the pace of the recovery,” he added.

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said yesterday, “I do not fear stronger accommodation in the pursuit of clearly overshooting 2%, even to the point of 2-1/2, or even a little bit more”. Inflation at 2.5% for some time is “in the cards” if Fed is doing its job right.

As for monetary policy, Evans said it’s premature to ramp up Fed’s asset purchases at this point. Fed should wait until the economy gets into better shape, including having unemployment closer to 6%, while consumers are more comfortable spending their money. When that happens, “we would have a better idea of the right amount of accommodation and the way to deliver it,” Evans said.

Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren warned that “the economy remains fragile”. He’s concerned that a second wave of coronavirus infections this fall and winter is “likely” which could cause some states to “impose new restrictions on mobility and face-to-face interactions”. Additionally, additional fiscal support “seems unlikely to materialize any time soon”.

“It would have been fine if the pandemic lasted three months, but the pandemic isn’t lasting three months,” Rosengren said. “It’s lasting much longer than that and so there’s definitely a need for more targeted spending.”

Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida told Bloomberg that “rates will be at the current level, which is basically zero, until actual observed PCE inflation has reached 2%.”

“That’s ‘at least.’ We could actually keep rates at this level beyond that. But we are not even going to begin thinking about lifting off, we expect, until we actually get observed inflation … equal to 2%. Also we want our labor market indicators to be consistent with maximum employment … So that is the whites of their eyes.”