Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said on Tuesday that she still expects interest rate cuts this year “if the economy evolves as expected.” However, she ruled out the possibility of any rate cuts during the upcoming policy meeting in May.
“I continue to think that the most likely scenario is that inflation will continue on its downward trajectory to 2 percent over time. But I need to see more data to raise my confidence,” the policymaker said in a speech to the Cleveland Association for Business Economics. “I do not expect I will have enough information by the time of the FOMC’s next meeting to make that determination.”
Furthermore, Mester highlighted the significance of additional inflation readings in providing insights into whether certain data points that have exceeded expectations this year were temporary anomalies or indicative of a slowing progress in inflation.