Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Beth Hammack indicated a preference for maintaining slightly more restrictive interest rates to sustain pressure on persistently elevated inflation.
"Currently, our policy stance is near neutral," Hammack stated during an event in Cincinnati on Friday. "I would lean toward a slightly more restrictive position" to reinforce pressure on the central bank's inflation target.
Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve announced its third consecutive rate cut, though multiple regional Fed presidents signaled dissent. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid formally opposed the decision, advocating to hold rates steady. Six policymakers also projected opposition to further cuts in their rate forecasts.
While Hammack does not hold a voting role on monetary policy this year, she will gain voting rights in 2026. When asked whether she supported this week's rate cut, she avoided a direct answer, describing it as a "complex decision" given the dual pressures of the Fed's mandate.
She emphasized that inflation has exceeded the Fed's 2% target for years, recently hovering near 3%.
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