02:41 PM EDT, 05/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee's April 30-May 1 meeting showed discussion about keeping rates higher for longer, and possibly lift rates higher if inflation progress does not reverse, but those discussions happened after a series of high inflation readings and before April data was released that showed slower inflation and employment growth.

Recent comments of note:

(May 21) Fed Governor Christopher Waller (voter) said that recent inflation improvements, while welcome, have been small and that he needs to see "several more months" of progress before he can consider easing policy. Later in the day, Waller said that he could see cutting rates at the end of the year or early in 2025.

(May 21) Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester (voter) said that she will need to see more evidence that rates are coming down, while Boston Fed President Susan Collins (nonvoter) said that patience is called for at this point. At the same conference, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said that the FOMC needs to remain cautious and is willing to wait longer to begin cutting rates, Reuters reported.

(May 20) Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr (voter) said that the FOMC is in a "good position" to hold policy steady until there is more evidence that inflation is slowing toward the 2% goal.

(May 20) Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson (voter) repeated that monetary policy is in restrictive territory and said that he will assess incoming data when making judgements about future monetary policy.

(May 17) Fed Governor Michelle Bowman (voter) repeated her previous comments that monetary policy is not on a preset course and that the lack of progress on inflation means that she is not able to rule out the need for further rate tightening. She said she still expects inflation to slow down this year but said that she will be cautious about loosening monetary policy until there is further evidence of progress on inflation.

(May 16) Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic (voter) said that he expects inflation to continue to slow, resulting in rate cuts later in the year, but noted that outlook is not assured.

(May 16) Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester (voter) said that 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.