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Investing.com -- Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin said Thursday the current level of monetary policy is in a "good place," in a further sign the central bank is leaning toward keeping rates steady at a time of rising tariff-induced uncertainty.
"We are waiting for the fog to clear," Barkin said in prepared remarks for an economics lecture at Washington and Lee University. "With the labor market still solid and inflation still above target, our moderately restrictive stance is a good place to be."
The Richmond Fed president did say, however, that if "conditions start to shift, we are well positioned to adjust," from the current level of "modest" restrictive monetary policy measures.
The Trump administration’s tariffs, meanwhile, could boost inflation more than expected at time of recent high inflation, Barkin said, though cautioned that there was a still a lot of uncertainty regarding the tariff outlook.
Barkin also acknowledged the slew of sentiment data that has flagged concerns about the consumer and economic outlook, stressing that "sentiment matters."
"For consumers and businesses to spend and invest, they need to have a certain level of confidence," Barkin added. "For credit and equity markets to finance those investments, they need stability. And, for now, an uncertainty-driven drop in sentiment looks like it could quiet demand."