New York Fed President John Williams maintained a cautiously dovish tone today, saying he continues to view U.S. monetary policy as “modestly restrictive.” With that in mind, he sees room for “a further adjustment in the near term” to bring the federal funds rate closer to neutral.
Williams reiterated his confidence that inflation will moderate as tariff effects filter through the economy without generating lasting price pressures. At the same time, he emphasized that the labor market appears to be cooling in a controlled manner.
The unemployment rate reached 4.4% in September, a level he noted was comparable to pre-pandemic norms—when the job market was healthy but “not overheated.”
