02:10 PM EDT, 06/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Federal Open Market Committee can be patient in waiting for additional evidence that inflation is slowing before lowering interest rate, or raise the rates further if needed, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President Alberto Musalem said Tuesday in remarks to the CFA Society St. Louis.

"The current policy posture balances the risk of easing policy too early with the risk of easing policy too late," Musalem. "It allows the Committee to patiently observe economic developments going forward. I will need to observe a period of favorable inflation, moderating demand and expanding supply before becoming confident that a reduction in the target range for the federal funds rate is appropriate."

Musalem said that it "could take months, and more likely quarters to play out."

Policy also needs to be flexible to the unlikely scenario that inflation pauses its decline well above the 2% goal or moves higher.

"Should evidence of alternative inflation scenarios begin to materialize, I would support an additional firming of monetary policy," Musalem said. "To be clear, I do not view the inflation 'getting stuck' or 'rising' as the most likely scenarios. But it is prudent to plan for and communicate about plausible scenarios that could play out."

Musalem next votes on the Federal Open Market Committee in 2025.