Fed’s Kashkari does not rule out interest rate hikes

Speaking before the Barclays-CEPR International Monetary Policy Forum, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said the US central bank’s policy stance is restrictive, but policymakers haven’t entirely ruled out additional interest-rate increases.

“I don’t think anybody has totally taken rate increases off the table,” Kashkari said Tuesday at an event in London. “I think the odds of us raising rates are quite low, but I don’t want to take anything off the table.”

Kashkari echoed remarks he made earlier Tuesday, in an interview on CNBC, when he said officials should wait for more evidence that inflation is cooling before cutting interest rates, especially given the strong labor market and resilient economy.


“Wage growth is still quite robust relative to ultimately what we think would be consistent with the 2% inflation target,” he said.

He added, “We have time to assess how much downward pressure we are putting on demand” before making any new policy decisions.

Fed policymakers are widely expected to keep interest rates at a 23-year high when they next meet June 11-12 in Washington.