The campaign of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve has b🅺een successful at reducing inflation, several Fed officials agreed on Tuesday, but these speakers began to diverge on whe🌸ther rates had reached their peak.

As Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee indicated that the Fꦆed’s rate hikes have so far put the economy on what is perhaps a “golden path” to reducing inflation back to its 2% goal, Fed Governor Michelle W. Bowman said she didn’t believe rates have reached their peak.

In an interview on CNBC, Goolsbee said he wouldn’t forecast Fed action because inflation has significantly cooled. In fact, Goolsbee said inflation could be on the same path as it was in 1982 when prices of goods and services dropped about 4% on the back of aggressive interest rate hikes similar to the Fed’s actions over the past year.

“We might equal the fastest dropping inflation in the last century. So we’💦re making progress on the inflation rate,” he said.

As long🐻 as inflation is dropping, Fed officials will likely be debating how long to leave rates where they are, not whether to raise them again, he saiওd.

But while the 1982 inflation fight produced a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:recession, Goolsbee said there is a “golden path” where the Fed rate hikes can bring down inflation to the 2% goal, while keeping unemployment in check, delivering the so-called “澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:soft landing” that avoids a recession. 

The comments from Federal Reserve officials come after the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Federal Open Market Committee voted last week to keep the federal funds rate at its 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:current level of 5.25% to 5.5%. 

Kashkari, Bowman Hint More Hikes May Be Needed

In an appearance on Bloomberg TV, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said while inflation has declined, strength in the economy and the labor market showed that it was still too early to lower rates.

“When activity continues to run this hot, that makes me question, is policy as tight as we assume it is?” Kashkari said. “We’re not done yet, meaning inflation is not back to our target, and if we need🌜 to do more, we will.”

His comments reflected sentiments from Bowman, who said at an Ohio Bankers League event that recent inflation data has been “uneven” and there was too much uncertainty over the economy to think that the inflation fight is finished.

“I continue to expect that we will need to increase the federal funds rate furt🥃her to bring inflatio🧸n down to our 2% target in a timely way, “ Bowman said. 

And while Fed Governor Christopher J. Waller didn’t focus on 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:federal monetary policy during remarks at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, he did say that the labor market was “calming down,” a sign that inflation may be coming under control too.

“We’re seeing the labor market getting into better balance between supply and demand,” Waller said.