U.S. inflation pressures are rising across the board; Chicago Federal Reserve President warns that the AI investment boom may lead to economic overheating.

According to Zhihui Finance APP, Chicago Federal Reserve President Goolsbee said on Wednesday that the U.S. September Consumer Price Index (CPI) report shows that inflationary pressures are spreading widely, a trend that is worrying. He also warned that the artificial intelligence (AI) data center construction and related investment boom could lead to the U.S. economy overheating, further increasing the difficulty for the Federal Reserve to control inflation.

In an interview on Wednesday, Goolsbee spoke about the U.S. September CPI data released the same day, bluntly stating that the report was "discouraging."

Data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday showed that, driven by rising fuel costs, U.S. consumer prices in September registered the fastest increase in five months. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.3% month-on-month, indicating that underlying inflationary pressures remain stubborn.

Goolsbee pointed out that persistent inflation in the services sector indicates that the upward trend in U.S. prices is not merely confined to areas affected by supply shocks, such as categories impacted by tariffs or the Iran war. This means that inflationary pressures may be spreading to broader parts of the economy, rather than being driven solely by temporary factors like rising energy prices.

With inflation continuing to exceed the target level, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate in September to prevent a further delay in returning inflation to the 2% goal.

According to the rate forecasts released after the Federal Reserve's September policy meeting, the median among policymakers shows that another rate hike might be necessary this year. Meanwhile, pricing of federal funds rate futures shows investors expect the Fed is likely to raise rates again in December. However, Goolsbee said it is still too early to determine whether current interest rate levels are sufficient to bring inflation back to the 2% target.

In addition to traditional factors driving inflation, Goolsbee is now even more concerned about the potential impact of the AI investment boom on the U.S. economy.

As tech companies continue to pour huge sums into building AI data centers and related infrastructure, this round of investment expansion, although providing momentum for economic growth, may also stimulate overall demand and increase the risk of economic overheating.

Goolsbee warned that the Federal Reserve must prevent overheating pressure in the economy from continuously accumulating. He noted that if overheating in the economy is driven by the demand side, the resulting inflation is often more persistent and harder to eliminate. "You have to prevent overheating pressure in the economy from continuously accumulating, because once overheating appears on the demand side, it often lasts a long time and is very hard to eliminate."

Goolsbee's latest remarks highlight the policy challenges currently facing the Federal Reserve: on the one hand, energy prices, tariffs, and geopolitical conflicts continue to push prices higher; on the other hand, the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure investment could further stimulate economic demand, making inflationary pressures even more stubborn. Against this backdrop, future inflation data and the impact of AI investment on economic activity may become crucial factors for the Federal Reserve in judging whether further monetary tightening is needed.