Kansas City Federal Reserve leader Esther George said Sunday she isn’t worried about low inflation levels right now, in comments that show the official skeptical but open to the need to lower rates again.
“The U.S. economy is currently in a good place with low inflation, low unemployment, and an outlook for continued moderate growth,” George said in text for a speech before the National Association for Business Economics Annual Meeting in Denver.
George, who dissented against the Fed’s quarter-percentage-point rate cuts made at the July and September Federal Open Market Committee meetings, didn’t rule out supporting another rate reduction if it happens. But she appeared skeptical over the need for further action.
Referring to the latest Fed two meetings, George said, “with moderate growth, record-low unemployment and a benign inflation outlook, maintaining an unchanged setting for policy would have been appropriate, in my view.” But she added, “There are certainly risks to the outlook as the economy faces trade-policy uncertainty and weaker global activity.”
“Should incoming data point to a broadly weaker economy, adjusting policy may be appropriate to achieve the Federal Reserve’s mandates for maximum sustainable employment and stable prices,” she said.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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