02:23 PM EDT, 05/16/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester (voter) said the current level of monetary policy is sufficient to address how the economy evolves and it would be 'prudent' to leave policy there until the Federal Open Market Committee gains greater confidence in the progress on inflation.

Recent comments of note:

(May 15) New York Fed President John Williams (voter) said in an interview with Reuters that he does not see a reason to either raise or lower interest rates at this point, saying that the current policy is well positioned currently.

(May 15) Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari (nonvoter) said that rates may need to remain elevated to assure that policy is restrictive enough to bring down inflation.

(May 14) Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that it may take longer for restrictive monetary policy to impact inflation than previously expected, requiring the FOMC to keep rates higher for longer. Powell said that the US economy is performing "very well" with a strong labor market, rising employment and wages, though with some signs of "gradual" cooling. Inflation is expected to slow through 2024, but he said that his level of confidence is lower than it was earlier in the year.

(May 13) Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson (voter) said that it is appropriate to maintain the federal funds rate in restrictive territory until there is further evidence that inflation is slowing toward the Fed's 2% goal.