Fed’s Bowman: Inflation progress has slowed, perhaps even stalled

Fed Governor Michelle Bowman, speaking at an International Institute of Finance conference, remarked that progress on inflation has “slowed” and may have “even stalled at this point”.

Bowman elaborated that the existing levels of growth and market activity might indicate that the current policy stance may not be restrictive enough. “There is a lot of financial market activity and a lot of continued growth that we wouldn’t have expected if policy was sufficiently tight,” she commented, adding, “I think it is restrictive. I think time will tell whether it is sufficiently restrictive.”

Separately, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester also echoed the need for caution before making further policy adjustments. While she remains hopeful that inflation will decrease, Mester emphasized the importance of further data analysis before proceeding with any monetary policy changes. “I still am expecting inflation to come down but I do think that we need to be watching and gathering more information before we take an action,” Mester commented.