Fed’s Hammack Says She Wouldn’t Support Rate Cuts If Central Bank Held Meeting Tomorrow: ‘We Have Inflation That’s Too High’

In an interview with Yahoo Finance in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Hammack expressed concerns about inflation and said there is no case to be made for an interest rate cut right now.

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack on Thursday said she would not be in favor of cutting interest rates if the central bank held a meeting tomorrow.

In an interview with Yahoo Finance in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Hammack expressed concerns about inflation and said there is no case to be made for an interest rate cut right now.

“We have inflation that’s too high and has been trending upwards over the past year. With the information I have, if the meeting was tomorrow, I would not see a case for reducing interest rates,” she said.

She added that while both sides of the Fed’s dual mandate are under pressure right now, on balance, unemployment rates remained near her estimate of maximum employment.

“When I look at the balance there, to me it's important that we maintain a modestly restrictive stance of policy to continue bringing inflation back to target,” she said.

On Wednesday, the central bank released minutes of July’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Members noted “considerable uncertainty” about the timing, magnitude, and persistence of tariff-related effects on the U.S. economy.

However, David Zervos, one of the 11 Federal Reserve Chair candidates, backed President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s calls for interest rate cuts.

“We really need to get rates back to a more neutral level,” Zervos said, while noting that the Fed’s current monetary policy is too restrictive.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities declined in Thursday’s midday session. At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was down 0.27%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) fell 0.38%. Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits was in the ‘bearish’ territory.

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