Federal
Reserve
Bank
of
Minneapolis
President
Neel
Kashkari
sits
in
the
lobby
of
the
Jackson
Lake
Lodge
in
Jackson
Hole,
where
the
Kansas
City
Fed
holds
its
annual
economic
symposium,
in
Wyoming,
August
24,
2023.
Ann
Saphir
|
Reuters
Minneapolis
Federal
Reserve
President
Neel
Kashkari
on
Sunday
said
it’s
a
“reasonable
prediction”
that
the
U.S.
central
bank
will
cut
interest
rates
once
this
year,
waiting
until
December
to
do
it.
“We
need
to
see
more
evidence
to
convince
us
that
inflation
is
well
on
our
way
back
down
to
2%,”
Kashkari
said
in
an
interview
with
CBS’
“Face
the
Nation”
program.
The
Fed
last
week
held
its
benchmark
policy
rate
in
the
5.25%-5.50%
range,
where
it
has
been
since
last
July,
to
keep
continued
pressure
on
the
economy
so
as
to
cool
inflation.
It
also
published
projections
that
showed
the
median
forecast
from
all
19
U.S.
central
bankers
was
for
a
single
interest
rate
cut
this
year.
“We’re
in
a
very
good
position
right
now
to
take
our
time,
get
more
inflation
data,
get
more
data
on
the
economy,
on
the
labor
market,
before
we
have
to
make
any
decisions,”
Kashkari
said.
“We’re
in
a
strong
position,
but
if
you
just
said
there’s
going
to
be
one
cut,
which
is
what
the
median
indicated,
that
would
likely
be
toward
the
end
of
the
year.”
Kashkari,
who
has
been
more
cautious
about
the
possibility
of
easing
monetary
policy
than
many
of
his
colleagues,
did
not
say
how
many
rate
cuts
he
personally
expects.
He
said
he
has
been
surprised
by
how
well
the
U.S.
job
market
has
performed
even
as
the
Fed
raised
borrowing
costs
aggressively
in
2022
and
2023,
but
that
he
expects
more
cooling
ahead.
“I
hope
it’s
modest
cooling,
and
then
we
can
get
back
down
to
more
of
a
balanced
economy,”
he
said.
Inflation
by
the
Fed’s
targeted
measure,
the
year-over-year
change
in
the
personal
consumption
expenditures
price
index,
registered
2.7%
in
April.
The
Fed
has
a
2%
target.
The
unemployment
rate
in
May
ticked
up
to
4%,
the
highest
since
just
before
the
Fed
launched
its
rate
hiking
campaign
in
March
2022
but
still
below
what
most
of
its
policymakers
see
as
sustainable.
Asked
about
the
barrier
high
borrowing
costs
pose
for
people
trying
to
buy
a
home,
Kashkari
said
the
best
thing
the
Fed
can
do
for
the
housing
market
is
to
bring
inflation
back
down
to
target.
“If
we
simply
cut
interest
rates
to
try
to
support
home
ownership
right
now,
that
would
probably
push
up
the
price
of
houses,
and
it
actually
wouldn’t
lead
to
any
better
affordability,”
he
said.
“The
best
thing
we
can
do
is
do
our
job
–
get
inflation
back
down
to
our
target
–
and
then,
hopefully,
the
supply
side
of
the
economy
can
step
in
to
build
the
homes
that
Americans
need.”
