Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank Governor Beth Hammack said that current interest rates are only moderately restrictive, and officials may keep borrowing costs unchanged for some time. Hammack said on Tuesday that despite some recent progress, the Federal Reserve is still “still a long way away” from meeting its inflation target. She also pointed out that official data is lagging and may not fully reflect the current situation, including the recent rise in oil prices that may drive up inflation expectations. “The policy is likely to stay the same for quite some time before the Commission starts implementing very moderate interest rate cuts to return the policy to a neutral position,” Hammack said in a speech prepared for a conference in London. This refers to the Federal Open Market Committee, which is responsible for setting interest rate policies.

Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank Governor Beth Hammack said that current interest rates are only moderately restrictive, and officials may keep borrowing costs unchanged for some time. Hammack said on Tuesday that despite some recent progress, the Federal Reserve is still “still a long way away” from meeting its inflation target. She also pointed out that official data is lagging and may not fully reflect the current situation, including the recent rise in oil prices that may drive up inflation expectations. “The policy is likely to stay the same for quite some time before the Commission starts implementing very moderate interest rate cuts to return the policy to a neutral position,” Hammack said in a speech prepared for a conference in London. This refers to the Federal Open Market Committee, which is responsible for setting interest rate policies.