Fed Hammark: Could take more than one hike to lower inflation

On 11 August, the Chairman of the Cleveland Federal Reserve said that current inflation was still not back to target levels and that the Federal Reserve might need several interest rates. She argued that a 25 basis point increase would “not have a significant impact on the economy”, but did not wish to prejudge the number of specific increases or the final interest rate level. According to Hammark, the current interest rate range of 3.50 to 3.75 per cent does not place significant constraints on the economy, and enterprises have not reduced their investment growth due to high interest rates, so “it is time to act”. The longer she waited, the harder it would be to return to 2 per cent. Hammark also stressed that there was no apparent problem in the job market and that the July employment data would not change her concerns about inflation. In her view, the market could only support the Fed and could not replace its actions. Hammark was opposed to the maintenance of interest rates at the Federal Reserve's July conference, which favoured an increase of 25 basis points。