02:34 PM EDT, 05/30/2024 (MT Newswires) -- President of Federal Reserve Bank of New York John Williams (voter) said that the current stance of monetary policy is "well positioned" to slow inflation in the second half of the year, but said that risks remain two-sided and the Federal Open Market Committee will continue to monitor incoming data to bring inflation back toward the 2% goal.

Recent comments of note:

(May 29) Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic (voter) said that the FOMC could cut rates in Q4 if inflation continues to trend lower, but added that "we still have a ways to go," according to Bloomberg.

(May 29) The Fed 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.

(May 29) Former Goldman Sachs executive Beth Hammack was named the new president of the Cleveland Fed effective Aug. 21, replacing retiring President Loretta Mester. Hammack will be a voting member of the FOMC this year.

(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 discounted.

(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 said 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.