{"id":123354,"date":"2026-02-03T19:26:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T15:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/?p=123354"},"modified":"2026-02-03T20:26:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T16:26:25","slug":"feds-barkin-shutdown-could-cause-short-disruptions-bigger-questions-still-on-jobs-and-inflation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/feds-barkin-shutdown-could-cause-short-disruptions-bigger-questions-still-on-jobs-and-inflation\/02\/03\/market-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"Fed\u2019s Barkin: Shutdown Could Cause Short disruptions, bigger questions Still on jobs and inflation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said the ongoing US government shutdown is likely to cause only brief delays in economic data, not lasting damage to the broader economic outlook. Speaking on Tuesday, Barkin stressed that while the flow of official numbers may slow for a few days, the Federal Reserve\u2019s core challenges remain unchanged: employment momentum and inflation progress.


Barkin described the idea of an economy with no job growth as \u201cuncomfortable,\u201d even if the unemployment rate stays low. For the Fed, stable unemployment alone is not enough if hiring stalls and labor demand weakens beneath the surface.
Demand looks solid, inflation still the test


He noted that recent US data has been encouraging on the demand side, with consumption holding up and both employment and inflation showing resilience. Companies, he said, consistently report that demand is \u201cfine,\u201d but not overheated.


That distinction matters for policymakers trying to judge whether the economy is running too hot or simply steady.
At the same time, Barkin made clear that inflation remains the unresolved issue. While he is open to the idea that inflation will continue to cool, he wants clearer evidence before declaring victory. The timing of a return to the Fed\u2019s 2% target, he said, is still an open question.


Policy now in restrictive territory<\/strong>

Barkin acknowledged that interest rates are now at the higher end of estimates for a neutral policy stance, meaning monetary policy is already applying restraint. Businesses also appear to be losing some pricing power, another sign that inflation pressures may be easing, albeit gradually.


He added that productivity gains are not coming only from artificial intelligence, but also from companies adapting to earlier labor shortages by limiting hiring and reorganizing operations.


Fed independence and focus<\/strong>

On institutional issues, Barkin emphasized that the Fed\u2019s job is to carry out the mandate set by Congress, regardless of political noise. He expressed confidence that the next Fed chair would do the same. He also cautioned against focusing too narrowly on the size of the Fed\u2019s balance sheet, noting that it reflects many components beyond bank reserves.

Overall, Barkin\u2019s message was steady rather than dramatic: short-term disruptions from the shutdown may blur the data, but the Fed\u2019s real task\u2014balancing employment risks against stubborn inflation\u2014remains firmly in focus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said the ongoing US government shutdown is likely to cause only brief delays in economic data, not lasting damage to the broader economic outlook. Speaking on Tuesday, Barkin stressed that while the flow of official numbers may slow for a few days, the Federal Reserve\u2019s core challenges remain unchanged: employment …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":87358,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-forex-markets","category-market-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123354"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123361,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123354\/revisions\/123361"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}