03:16 PM EST, 02/07/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Fed Governor Adriana Kugler (voter) said that the Federal Open Market Committee will continue to watch incoming data and the economic outlook, noting that inflation has slowed from its post-pandemic peak but that recent progress has been "slow and uneven."

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari (nonvoter) said that the January data show that the labor market is still strong even after some slowing, adding that the FOMC remains committed to bringing inflation back down to 2%. Kashkari repeated that the FOMC will wait to see more information on tariffs before reacting to them.

Recent comments of note:

(Feb. 6) Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan (nonvoter) said that the FOMC may need to hold rates at the current level "for quite some time" regardless of a slowdown in inflation, suggesting that a slowdown in labor market would be a main reason to ease further.

(Feb. 5) Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee (voter) said that supply chain issues, such as those seen during the pandemic, can cause shortages that can be inflationary. The impact of trade policy, including tariffs, needs to be taken into consideration when making monetary policy decisions, according to Goolsbee.

(Feb. 5) Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin (nonvoter) said that further rate cuts are likely this year but agreed with other Fed officials that policy changes under the new administration inject uncertainty into the outlook.

(Feb. 4) Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson (voter) said that he expects further loosening of monetary policy "over the medium term," but repeated comments from other Fed officials that the FOMC does not need to rush to lower interest rates and that it should proceed cautiously.

(Feb. 4) San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly (nonvoter) said that the FOMC can take its time making when policy decisions this year, noting that it does not have to be preemptive and can make good decisions based on the incoming data.

(Feb. 4) Boston Fed President Susan Collins (voter) said that proposed tariffs could have an upward effect on inflation while Goolsbee repeated comments from other Fed officials that the FOMC will need to proceed cautiously when considering rate reductions due to the uncertainty.