Investing.com — There is still “a way to go” before officials at the Federal Reserve will believe that a spike in interest rates has reliably quelled inflation, according to New York Fed President John Williams.
In prepared remarks on Friday, Williams said the Fed has made “significant progress” in corraling price growth, although he flagged that the figure remains above its 2% target level.
“We are committed to getting the job done,” Williams said.
Minutes released earlier this week from the Fed’s June policy gathering showed that officials were reticient to begin to ratcheting down interest rates from a more than two-decade high range of 5.25% to 5.5% until they had seen more evidence of waning inflation.
With this concern in mind, the Fed also signaled that it now expects to only roll out one cut to borrowing costs this year. In March, it had suggested that there could be as many as three in 2024.
Even still, despite the “best efforts of economists and others” to understand the broader economic environment, Williams noted that the outlook for rates is murky.
“[W]e must accept that uncertainty will continue to define the future,” he said.
Investors are currently pricing in two rate cuts this year, with the first coming in September, according to CME Group’s (NASDAQ:) closely-monitored FedWatch Tool.
