Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Beth Hammack has indicated that a series of interest rate increases, rather than a single move, may be necessary to bring inflation down to the 2% target. However, she declined to specify the exact number of hikes required.
"Overall, I think one 25-basis-point move probably wouldn't have a huge impact on the economy," Hammack said in an interview with Yahoo Finance on Monday. "So it may take a certain number," but "I don't want to prejudge what that number will be."
Hammack was one of three officials who dissented when the Federal Reserve voted to hold interest rates steady last month, instead advocating for a rate increase. In a statement following that meeting, she argued that the longer high inflation persists, the more difficult it could become to bring it down.
During the same interview on Monday, Hammack stated that current interest rate levels are not creating a "meaningfully restrictive" effect on the economy, and she does not believe inflation will fall to the target level on its own.