02:25 PM EDT, 06/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Fed Governor Adriana Kugler (voter) said that it is possible that the FOMC could cut rates later in 2024 but said that currently inflation is too high and that further evidence that the recent improvement in inflation is continuing will be needed before the FOMC can act.

St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem (nonvoter) said that the FOMC can remain patient and wait for more evidence that inflation is slowing before cutting rates and should also be prepared to act swiftly if there are signs that inflation progress stalls or inflation moves even higher.

Boston Fed President Susan Collins (nonvoter) said that recent inflation data have been encouraging but noted that the process of bringing down inflation may take longer than expected and that it is too soon to say that inflation is reliably on a path back to 2% target. As a result, Collins said that the FOMC should not react based on only a few months of promising inflation data and should instead be patient before deciding to lower rates.

Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin (voter) said on an MNI webcast that he is looking for "sustainment and broadening" in inflation progress, but declined to specify which price indicators he is paying the most attention to. Barkin said that the FOMC acts meeting-by-meeting and said that he is keeping an open mind on decisions based on incoming data.

New York Fed President John Williams (voter) told Fox Business News that the FOMC will make policy decisions based on the incoming economic and inflation data and not politics as the presidential election approaches in November.

Recent comments of note:

(June 17) Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker (nonvoter) said that it would be appropriate to lower rates by the end of 2024 assuming that the economy and inflation evolve as expected, but given the uncertainty, he would not rule out the possibility of there being two rate cuts, or even none at all.

(June 16) Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari (nonvoter) said that it is reasonable to expect that the FOMC will not cut rates until the December meeting, adding that more evidence is needed to assure that inflation is slowing toward the 2% goal.

(June 14) Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee (nonvoter) said that the May inflation data were a positive sign, but that more data are needed before confidently concluding that inflation is slowing.