Federal Reserve Board Member Cook: Prepared to raise interest rates if inflation persists

BlockBeats News, May 28 — On Wednesday local time, Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook said during a speech at an event at Stanford University that inflation is moving in the wrong direction. If this situation continues, she is prepared to raise interest rates. If the labor market deteriorates, she is prepared to cut interest rates.

Although Cook said that she currently leans toward keeping borrowing costs unchanged and expects price growth to cool again in the coming months, her remarks align with many other Federal Reserve officials’ views that accelerating inflation is now a bigger policy concern than the labor market.

Cook said, “I want to be clear about my risk assessment: the risks still lean toward higher inflation.” Cook said that inflation has been above the Fed’s 2% target for five years, creating risks that price pressures become embedded in pricing and wage-setting behavior. “Therefore, if the expected decline in inflation does not appear in a timely manner, I am prepared to raise interest rates,” she said. (Jin10)