Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Jeff Schmid said on Tuesday that some form of monetary policy tightening is needed to pull the “excessive” inflation rate back to the target level of 2%. “With the notable exception of inflation, the economy seems to be performing well,” Schmid said in a speech delivered at the bank's upcoming agricultural event. Schmid said, “My primary concern is inflation,” and given recent data, monetary policy does not seem to be taking austerity measures to withstand these price pressures. “Therefore, I think a tighter policy is needed to reduce inflation to the Fed's 2% target.” The official currently has no voting rights in the Federal Open Market Committee, which is responsible for setting interest rates, and he did not specify when or by what extent he would like the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. This is Schmid's first public statement since last week's FOMC meeting. At the time, against the backdrop of long-term concerns about excessive inflation, officials voted to keep the federal funds rate target range unchanged between 3.5% and 3.75%.

Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Jeff Schmid said on Tuesday that some form of monetary policy tightening is needed to pull the “excessive” inflation rate back to the target level of 2%. “With the notable exception of inflation, the economy seems to be performing well,” Schmid said in a speech delivered at the bank's upcoming agricultural event. Schmid said, “My primary concern is inflation,” and given recent data, monetary policy does not seem to be taking austerity measures to withstand these price pressures. “Therefore, I think a tighter policy is needed to reduce inflation to the Fed's 2% target.” The official currently has no voting rights in the Federal Open Market Committee, which is responsible for setting interest rates, and he did not specify when or how much he would like the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. This is Schmid's first public statement since last week's FOMC meeting. At the time, against the backdrop of long-term concerns about excessive inflation, officials voted to keep the federal funds rate target range unchanged between 3.5% and 3.75%.