Stephen Miran, a Federal Reserve governor whose term ends at the end of January, said Thursday that he is looking for 150 basis points of interest-rate cuts this year to boost the U.S. labor market. Miran told Bloomberg Television's Surveillance program that Fed officials had room to further reduce rates given his view that underlying inflation was likely running at 2.3%. "I'm looking for about a point and a half of cuts. A lot of that is driven by my view of inflation," Miran said. "Underlying inflation is running within noise of our target, and that's a good indication of where overall...
In a statement after the September policy meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia said: "With signs that private demand is recovering, indications that inflation may be persistent in some areas and labour market conditions overall remaining stable, the Board decided that it was appropriate to maintain the cash rate at its current level at this meeting. Financial conditions have eased since the beginning of the year and this seems to be having some impact, but it will take some time to see the full effects of earlier cash rate reductions. The Board judged that it was appropriate to remain...
Federal Reserve (Fed Bank of New York President John C. Williams hit the newswires on Monday, expressing his general cautiousness toward further interest rate cuts but acknowledging that current Fed rate policy is tilted more toward the restrictive side at a time when the clear risk to underlying economic data appears to be heavier toward labor market weakness. Monetary policy continues to be restrictive, we're still in a position to put downward pressure on inflation.We still have a ways to go to get to 2% inflation goal.The Fed has a balancing act, underlying inflation moderating.The Fed...
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the outlook for the labor market and inflation faces risks, reiterating his view that policymakers will likely face a difficult road as they consider further interest rate cuts. "Near-term risks to inflation are tilted to the upside and risks to employment are tilted to the downside—a challenging situation," Powell said Tuesday in prepared remarks for an event at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce in Rhode Island. "These two-sided risks mean there's no risk-free path." Powell offered no indication whether he would support a rate cut at...
The Federal Reserve's interest rate decision last week was not as "dovish" as it first seemed, analysts at Barclays have argued. Along with a 25-basis point reduction to the Fed's target range for rates to 4% to 4.25%, the meeting included fresh projections which showed that officials are anticipating another half percentage point in rate cuts to help stem a downturn in the labor market. However, seven of the 19 estimates provided by policymakers in their closely-watched "dot plot" of forecasts saw fewer reductions this year, with one even calling for rates to have stayed at their prior...
Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran said interest rates are too high and proposed aggressive cuts in the coming months to protect the labor market. In his first policy speech since being sworn in as governor last week, Miran outlined the reasons why the neutral interest rate—where the policy rate neither stimulates nor burdens the economy—has fallen. That rate, which was likely overestimated in the past, has also been lowered recently by tariffs, immigration restrictions, and tax policy, Miran said. This means interest rates should be much lower to prevent economic damage, he...
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda stated that achieving 2% inflation is getting closer, although real inflation remains low. Ueda emphasized that the BOJ will continue to raise interest rates...
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintained its cash rate at 4.1% during its April meeting, holding borrowing costs unchanged after slashing 25 bps in the February meeting, aligning with market...