Fed voter: Need to further clarify inflation path before cutting interest rates

Richmond Federal Reserve President Barkin stated that the Fed needs to clarify the inflation path before it can lower interest rates. Barkin, who has voting rights on monetary policy this year, said the current policy positioning is good and added that the Fed has the power to suppress inflation. When asked if the Fed could cut interest rates once and maintain them at that level, Barkin said it depends on economic data. If the current situation continues, now may not be the best time to provide guidance on the timeline for subsequent policy adjustments. "Sometimes we want to provide forward-looking guidance and we do so," he said. "In my opinion, it doesn't seem like that now. It doesn't feel like the time to release forward-looking guidance. Let's see where the data takes us."