Three Fed officials warn inflation remains sticky at Jackson Hole

AI digestMimile.ai EditorialAugust 27, 2026 at 09:09 PM

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Three Fed officials warn inflation remains sticky at Jackson Hole

Three Federal Reserve officials voiced concern on Thursday that U.S. inflation remains stubbornly above the central bank's 2% target. Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, and Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee spoke at the Jackson Hole economic symposium. Their remarks signal continued debate over whether to raise interest rates at the Fed's September 15-16 meeting.

Key Facts

Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid said inflation is "still stubborn and sticky" and the current policy rate of 3.50%-3.75% does not appear restrictive.
Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, one of three dissenters who favored a rate hike at the July 28-29 meeting, said "now is the time to act" on inflation.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said his biggest short-run fear is that inflation is not under control and "everybody should be on edge."
Hammack said inflation has been above the Fed's 2% target for more than five years and monetary policy is not currently restraining the economy.

Inflation Concerns

Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid told CNBC that inflation is "still stubborn and it's still sticky and we've got to continue to find ways to break through" to reach the 2% target. Schmid said the current federal funds rate of 3.50%-3.75%, left unchanged at the July 28-29 meeting, does not appear to be restrictive. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said inflation has been above target for more than five years and monetary policy is not doing anything at the moment to restrain the economy. Hammack added that she is hearing more from contacts worried about inflation and fears the longer the trend continues, the greater the risk to the central bank's credibility.

Rate Hike Debate

Schmid, who had recently favored raising rates, said when asked about a hike at the September 15-16 meeting: "I think we need a little bit more information." Hammack, one of three Fed officials who dissented in favor of a rate hike at last month's meeting, said "I don't want to prejudge anything, but I believe now is the time to act." Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said on the Rapid Response podcast that his biggest short-run fear is that inflation is not under control. Goolsbee added: "We hear a lot about affordability and we better be mindful because if inflation starts going up again, it's very hard to get rid of it."

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Three Fed officials warn inflation remains sticky at Jackson Hole

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Finance

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Three Fed officials warn inflation remains sticky at Jackson Hole

Key Facts

Inflation Concerns

Rate Hike Debate

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