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Federal Reserve Watch for April 1: Musalem Says Current Policy Appropriate, Could Support Higher or Lower Rates as Needed
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Federal Reserve Watch for April 1: Musalem Says Current Policy Appropriate, Could Support Higher or Lower Rates as Needed
Apr 1, 2026 12:15 PM

02:52 PM EDT, 04/01/2026 (MT Newswires) -- St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem (nonvoter) said that he could support rate decreases or rate increases depending on what conditions require but added that he believes that the current setting of policy will remain appropriate for some time.

Recent comments of note:

(March 31) Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid (nonvoter) said that it cannot be assumed that inflation from higher oil prices will only be temporary, adding that he sees high inflation as the larger risk for the Fed currently.

(March 30) New York Fed President John Williams (voter) said that monetary policy is well-positioned to handle inflation spikes due to supply shocks resulting from the conflict in Iran.

(March 30) Fed Chair Jerome Powell (voter) said that inflation expectations remain well anchored after an expected short-term price shock from the conflict in Iran and that the FOMC has time to see if that is the case before incorporating it into policy making. Powell added that the FOMC needs to act independent of political forces and focus on inflation expectations as the FOMC lacks the tools to deal with short-term shocks.

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