Fed’s Goolsbee Says Rates Can Fall If Trade Policy Is Resolved
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee reiterated the US economy looks good underneath the surface, and the central bank can proceed with interest-rate cuts if uncertainty around trade policy is resolved.
“I still think, if we can get past this bumpy period, that the dual mandate still looks pretty good to me, and I think we could be on that path,” Goolsbee said Monday during a moderated discussion in Davenport, Iowa — referring to the Fed’s congressional mandates of fostering price stability and maximum employment.
Fed officials have left their benchmark rate unchanged this year after enacting a series of reductions at the end of 2024. They’ve maintained a cautious stance toward additional moves in the near term, emphasizing rising risks to their inflation and employment mandates from President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
“I would say surprisingly little direct impact so far in the data that’s coming out,” Goolsbee said. “We don’t know if that will remain true for the next month or two.”
Fed policymakers next meet to vote on interest rates on June 17-18. Investors are betting they will leave rates unchanged at their June and July meetings before resuming cuts later in the year, according to futures.
Source : Bloomberg
