The Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it has decided to keep interest rates in the range of 3.5% to 3.75%. Although markets largely expected the Federal Open Market Committee to remain unchanged, recent statements from several officials indicate that there is significant support to at least consider a hike:
Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan was the most specific, stating that she believes rates should be "modestly" higher, while Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, Neel Kashkari of Minneapolis, and Governor Christopher Waller have all made statements supportive of tighter policy should inflation persist:
Indeed, those three policymakers dissented with the Fed's decision:
At the post-decision press conference, Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh stated that while the Fed will not provide hints on where rate policy is heading, it will take necessary steps to meet its 2% inflation goal:
"I understand the desire for rolling forecasts and commentary from this committee, but for our part, we need to observe market reaction to developments direct and unfiltered," he said:
Recent inflation numbers have been at least somewhat comforting, as a brief decline in gasoline saw the consumer price index post a surprise 0.4% drop in June:
"We're going to have an interesting set of data points come out between now and the September meeting," said Jerry Templeman, a former senior analyst at the New York Fed:
