Odaily Planet Daily reports: Bitcoin News posted on X that Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh, in his first Jackson Hole speech, stated that the U.S. economy has strengthened and remained resilient, and the Fed must continue addressing inflation.
Wash stated that the labor market is consistent with full employment, with an unemployment rate of 4.1% and initial jobless claims near multi-decade lows. Over the past year, the inflation rate for the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index was 3.7%, and the annualized inflation rate over the past six months was 4.1%, both significantly above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. In the PCE price index basket, 54% of items rose more than 3% over the past year, indicating that inflation remains broad-based.
Wash stated that recent better-than-expected inflation data has not convinced him that underlying inflation trends have improved substantially. Credit spreads remain low, lending standards are relatively loose, and there is little sign in credit markets of policy tightening. He said, “I find it difficult to describe overall financial conditions as restrictive.”
Wash stated that the Fed should currently focus primarily on prices and reaffirmed that a 2% inflation rate is a “firm and fixed goal.” He also said that the Fed’s forward guidance is “outdated” and that markets should no longer rely primarily on the Fed to find the next trade.
Wash stated that the criterion for initiating easing is: “We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving clearly and sufficiently quickly toward our target. Otherwise, we still have work to do.” He concluded his speech by saying: “I stand here today to uphold discipline, not to make a decision.”