Fed’s Barr calls economy “strikingly” resilient, defends last hike

Federal Reserve (Fed) Governor Michael Barr said Tuesday that he sees “elevated wage rates in the skilled trades,” and added that the resilience of the US economy is “striking.”

He said that the Fed is data-dependent and focused on the balance of risks to achieve the dual mandate, and that the last hike was “appropriate.”

Key highlights:

Seeing some elevated wage rates in the skilled trades

Taking the longer view, we need to be sure we do what it takes to bring supply and demand into balance

The resilience of the US economy is striking

Momentum seems to be building in the economy

All we're focused on is what the data tell us about the evolving outlook and balance of risks to achieving our congressional mandate

I see us not getting to the 2% inflation target in a timely way unless we adjust our policy

Last hike was appropriate, and I think we will likely need further adjustments.