Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly crossed the wires in the last hour, saying that the progress on inflation has been significant, but we are still not there yet.
Key Quotes:
Recent inflation data was not surprising.
Inflation bumps along the way aren’t particularly surprising.
Don’t want to end up with a too-strong, or too-weak policy response.
Need to be confident that inflation is on the way to target before acting.
Can’t just look at published information, that’s backwards-looking.
The economy growing at a solid rate, the labor market is still strong, and inflation is above target.
The worst thing to do is act urgently when urgency isn’t necessary.
Market Reaction:
The hawkish-sounding remarks reinforce market expectations that the Fed will delay cutting interest rates, which has been a key factor behind the recent US Dollar (USD) rally to its highest level since early November.