Fed Officials Sound Alarm on Inflation, Push for Immediate Action

Two Federal Reserve officials who voted in favor of an interest rate hike this week expressed concerns about inflation, saying action is needed now to prevent further price increases.

Beth Hammack from the Cleveland Fed said that 'the longer high inflation persists, the more challenging and costly it can be to bring it back down.' She emphasized the need for the Fed to act quickly to return PCE inflation to its 2% target.

Hammack also noted that while supply-side factors such as energy prices have contributed to inflation this year, she sees 'inflationary pressures coming from the demand side of the economy.'

Neel Kashkari from the Minneapolis Fed agreed, stating that a 'potential series of small policy moves would be better than waiting and eventually concluding that even bolder actions were necessary.'