Fed official Hammack said officials should act to curb inflation, adding current
policy rates are not sufficiently restrictive to allow price pressures to abate.
She favors keeping policy restrictive and was one of three dissents at last
month’s meeting, preferring a 25bp hike. Hammack warned that a longer period of
inflation above target would make it harder to bring down and said she has not
yet seen entrenched inflation expectations, though some conversations leave her
concerned. She cited frothy capital markets — IPO activity totaling trillions of
dollars and record debt issuance — as evidence current rates are not imposing
enough credit or growth restraint.
