Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack told CNBC on Thursday that the central bank needs to act now to bring down inflation.
Even with recent data indicating a slowing pace of price increases, the policymaker said she worries about the impact inflation is having on household budgets. Hammack was one of three dissenters at the July Fed meeting who favored a rate hike.
"I don't want to prejudge anything. But I believe now is the time to act," she said in a live CNBC interview.
Hammack noted that inflation has been running above target for more than five years, and the central bank should tighten monetary policy:
"The longer inflation stays above our objective, the harder it will be for us to bring it back down, and the more pain that individuals and businesses are going to be experiencing," she added.
Much of this year's inflation increase has been traced to the impact from the Iran war, tariffs, and demand related to artificial intelligence.
Hammack said she recently met with workers who expressed feelings of despair despite having good jobs.
Market pricing, though, indicates the Fed will stay on hold at both its September and October meetings.
