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Investing.com-- Minneapolis Federal Reserve Neel Kashkari on Thursday warned that the central bank was likely to remain on hold until it had more clarity on trade tariff-driven inflation, although he did flag sustained strength in the labor market.
Speaking at a town hall at the Montana Chamber of Commerce, Kashkari said that inflation still remained above the Fed’s 2% annual target, and that the central bank will work towards bringing it down.
But he added that the Fed will operate slowly until it has more clarity on price pressures stemming from President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, which still remain unclear.
Kashkari warned that the effects of tariff-driven inflation could be felt later in the year.
On the labor market, Kashkari said the sector remained strong, and that the Fed intended to maintain this trend.
The Minneapolis Fed chief’s comments, especially his cautious stance on tariff-driven inflation, largely echoed Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who warned multiple times in the past week that the Fed will remain cautious over tariff-driven inflation.
The cautious stance was in contrast to repeated calls from Trump that the Fed cut interest rates or risk damage to the economy. Trump has also engaged in personal attacks against Powell in recent months.
A recent media report said that Trump could name Powell’s successor early in order to undermine the Fed chief.
Speaking on the central bank’s independence, Kashkari said on Thursday that the Fed made decisions based on data and analysis, and not politics.