A trio of Fed officials cautioned that new broad-based tariffs could add upward pressure to consumer and producer prices, suggesting a slower pace of rate cuts than previously anticipated.
Boston Fed President Susan Collins highlighted yesterday that tariffs on both final and intermediate goods risk inflating costs throughout supply chains, requiring “patient” policy decisions.
“It’s really appropriate for policy to be patient, careful, and there’s no urgency for making additional adjustments, especially given all of the uncertainty, even though, of course, we’re still somewhat restrictive,” Collins said.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee also stressed “a ton of uncertainty,” warning that a premature return to lower rates could reignite inflation.
“We’ve got to be a little more careful and more prudent of how fast rates could come down because there are risks that inflation is about to start kicking back up again,” Goolsbee said.
Meanwhile, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic noted that any tariff-related surge in prices or inflation expectations might warrant close monitoring before further easing steps are taken.
