Fed Officials Argue Rate Hike Needed to Tame Persistent Inflation

Three Federal Reserve officials dissented from the central bank's decision to keep interest rates steady at this week's policy meeting. The dissenters, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan, argued that a rate hike is needed to curb persistent inflation.

Inflation has remained above the Fed's 2% target for over five years, and Hammack said she was not confident it would return on its own. She believed a higher federal funds rate would help restrain economic activity and reduce inflationary pressures.

Kashkari also expressed concern about inflation, saying the central bank's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee should have raised rates as the first in a series of hikes. He argued that managing against the risk of high inflation becoming entrenched required tightening policy incrementally.