02:54 PM EDT, 05/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Federal Reserve Beige Book showed a "slight or modest" pace of economic growth in most districts between early-April and mid-May, with consumer spending up only slightly as consumers became more price-conscious.

As a result, price growth was only modest over the period as retailers offered discounts to entice customers. Employment growth was reported as "slight" overall, with most reporting only "negligible to modest" job gains. Hiring plans were mixed.

Former Goldman Sachs executive Beth Hammack was named the new president of the Cleveland Fed, starting Aug. 21, replacing retiring President Loretta Mester. Hammack will be a voting member of the FOMC this year.

Recent comments of note:

(May 28) Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari (nonvoter) said in an interview with CNBC that it would take "many more months of positive inflation data" to convince him that rate cuts are appropriate, noting in a speech later that the mostly likely scenario is for rates to remain elevated for an "extended period of time." He added that the possibility of further rate hikes, while very low, cannot be completely discarded.

(May 28) Fed Governor Michelle Bowman (voter) said that she would have considered waiting before slowing the pace of securities roll-offs, noting that inflation remains elevated. The FOMC voted at its April 30-May 1 meeting to reduce the pace of sales of securities on its balance sheet, but minutes of that meeting released on May 22 showed that a few members were in favor of delaying that decision.

(May 24) Fed Governor Christopher Waller (voter) said that the rising supply of Treasury securities could put upward pressure on the long-term natural interest rate, or R-star, but he said that only time will tell how much that impact would be, if at all. Waller did not make any comments on monetary policy or the economy in his prepared remarks.

(May 23) Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic (voter) said that improvement in inflation has slowed, suggesting that the FOMC needs more patience before bringing down interest rates.