BlockBeats news: On January 16, Anna Paulson, the newly appointed president of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve and a 2026 FOMC voting member, stated in her first nationwide media interview that there is currently no need to rush into cutting interest rates. She also clearly expressed her support for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's leadership and the independence of the central bank.
Paulsen said that current interest rates remain slightly above the neutral range, which helps continue to push inflation back toward the 2% target. She expressed satisfaction with maintaining the interest rate unchanged at the January meeting. She expects significant progress on inflation to be made this year, but whether a rate cut will occur later this year will depend on two factors: first, whether inflation continues to ease as expected, and second, whether the labor market unexpectedly deteriorates.
On the risk balance, Paulson believes the downside risk to the labor market is "slightly higher" than the risk of persistent inflation. She pointed out that recent job growth has been heavily concentrated in the healthcare and social assistance sectors, and the cooling of the labor market has exceeded expectations. Any signs of a shift from "slowing" to "collapsing" would be an important warning signal.
Overall, Paulsen is regarded as a relatively dovish member of the FOMC, but his stance emphasizes "patience and data dependency," prioritizing the prevention of disorderly risks in the labor market while ensuring inflation returns to its target.