Fed Chair Jerome Powell repeated his upbeat comments today. He said the US is experiencing “a remarkably positive set of economic circumstances, and we’re working hard to try to sustain the expansion and keep unemployment low and keep inflation right on target”. And, “there’s really no reason to think that this cycle can’t continue for quite some time.” On interest rates, he said they are “still accommodative” and “we’re gradually moving to a place where they’ll be neutral.” He added that “we may go past neutral. But we’re a long way from neutral at this point, probably.”

Other comments from Fed officials were generally hawkish. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said “getting policy up to a slightly restrictive setting — 3, 3.25 percent — would be consistent with the strong economy and good inflation that we are looking at.”

Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said he preferred Fed’s rate hike schedule to avoid inverting the yield curve and “it’s just a question of timing”. He added there is no need to “rush the normalization process”. For now his forecasts are “”three this year, two next year, two year after.”

Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said she supported a gradual pace of hiking. But she also noted that “if we end up having inflation move high up” or if it goes too much above target, “then we need to move policy faster.”

Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said “growth is solid, unemployment is low, and inflation is at target”. He didn’t touch directly on monetary policy but struck a tone of caution on flattening yield curve which “could suggest markets are losing confidence in the outlook.”

Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said it’s a “good idea to slow down” in “today’s complex economic and financial environment”.

“That’s why I supported the decision last month to reduce the pace of rate increases. And the same considerations suggest slowing the pace further at the upcoming meeting,” she added.

“A slower pace is just a way to ensure we make the best possible decisions,” she said. “We can and, if necessary, should adjust our overall policy strategy to keep financial conditions restrictive even as the pace slows.”

She added that Fed should not “lock in” on a terminal rate. “My own view is that we will likely need to continue gradually raising the fed funds rate until we see convincing evidence that inflation is on track to return to our 2 percent target in a sustainable and timely way,” she said.

“The most important risk I see is that if we tighten too little, the economy will remain overheated, and we will fail to keep inflation in check,” Logan said.

In a speech overnight, Fed Chair Jerome Powell pointed to substantial changes underway, by US administration, in trade, immigration, fiscal policy, and regulation—all of which are still “evolving” and difficult to assess in terms of economic impact.

In particular, Powell acknowledged that the scale of tariff increases already announced is “significantly larger than anticipated,” and warned that the resulting economic effects will likely include “higher inflation and slower growth.”

Powell noted a clear rise in near-term inflation expectations, with both market-based breakevens and survey indicators moving up in response to the new tariff regime. While long-term expectations remain largely anchored, he cautioned that the inflationary impulse from tariffs could prove “more persistent” than initially thought. In the near term, tariffs are highly likely to generate “at least a temporary rise in inflation” .

Importantly, Powell acknowledged that Fed could face a scenario where its “dual-mandate goals are in tension.” In such a case, policymakers would need to carefully weigh how far the economy is from each objective, and over what time horizons those gaps might close.

Full speech of Fed’s Powell here.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said yesterday, “we are going to get our policy rate certainly to a neutral space where we are no longer providing accommodation. If inflation stays at high levels or levels that are too high — by too high, it’s really not moving back towards our 2% target — then I am going to be supporting moving more.”

“We moved our policy rate 25 basis points and the 30 year (mortgage) moved 2 percentage points. That is tremendous responsiveness,” Bostic also noted. “The moves that we have seen in rates and in yields are a sign that the markets still believe the Fed has credibility. They have said what we are going to do and they have priced in us doing them … That is an important dimension in the marketplace.”