Fed officials show divergence ahead of Powell’s speech, with some supporting further rate hikes.

Huoxing Finance reports that on August 28, according to Bloomberg, prior to Federal Reserve Chair Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole symposium, several Fed officials signaled differing views on inflation and interest rate prospects, with main分歧 centered on whether current rates have imposed sufficient restraint on the economy. Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid suggested that short-term rates may still be accommodative, indicating more work remains for the Fed. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack similarly stated that current rates are insufficiently restrictive and that further policy tightening would be necessary to bring inflation down to 2% within a reasonable timeframe. Boston Fed President Susan Collins argued that current rates are “moderately restrictive.” Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said the Fed could continue waiting for more inflation data, but expressed concern if service-sector inflation remains elevated or rises again. U.S. July PCE price index rose 3.7% year-over-year. Interest rate futures indicate the market assigns a roughly 36% probability of a Fed rate hike in September. The Fed held the federal funds rate at 3.5% to 3.75% in July, with three officials voting in favor of an increase. Powell is scheduled to speak at 22:00 Beijing time on August 28.