Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee expressed concern that the ongoing data blackout caused by the government shutdown could hinder the Fed’s ability to judge inflation accurately. Speaking on CNBC, he said the lack of near-term readings makes him “more uneasy” about continuing with interest-rate cuts.
“If there are problems developing on the inflation side, it’s going to be a fair amount of time before we see that,” he warned.
Even so, Goolsbee clarified that he remains broadly dovish in the medium term, saying he is “not hawkish on interest rates” and expects the long-run neutral rate to be “a fair bit below” current policy levels.
On the economy, Goolsbee said the labor market continues to show “mild cooling”, describing conditions as consistent with a gradual slowdown rather than a sharp correction.
