Fed Officials Express Varied Opinions on Rate Hikes

The President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, James Bullard, is expecting an interest rate hike in 2022, due to the rise in inflation rate above the 2% target.

“We were expecting a good year, but this is a bigger year than we were expecting, more inflation than we were expecting. And I think it’s natural that we’ve tilted a little bit more hawkish here to contain inflationary pressures,” Bullard told CNBC on Friday.

“I would be a little concerned about feeding into the housing froth that seems to be developing. I’m leaning a little bit toward the idea that maybe we don’t need to be in mortgage-backed securities.”

Meanwhile, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Neel Kashkari, expressed is opposition to raising interest rates through 2023, with the rise in inflation seen as transitory.

Kashkari told Reuters that the historically low interest rates are helping more people find work.