Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari: We must wait

Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari: We must wait

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said interest rates should remain at their current level until we understand where inflation is going.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari reiterated that the central bank is likely to keep interest rates at current levels “for a while longer” and questioned whether he’s sure how restrictive monetary policy is right now.

“The biggest uncertainty in my mind is how much downward pressure monetary policy is putting on the economy. That’s unknown; we don’t know for sure,” Kashkari said at an event in North Dakota on Wednesday. “It shows that we probably need to stay here for a while longer,” he said.

The president of the Minneapolis Fed said last week that the central bank would likely keep interest rates where they are “for a long time.” Policymakers have kept interest rates at their current level, a 23-year high, since July.

Fed officials postponed expectations for the first interest rate cut, emphasizing that borrowing costs should be kept high for longer in the face of disappointing inflation indicators. New data released on Wednesday showed price growth excluding food and energy slowed in April for the first time in six months.