Fed's Schmid says it is too early to draw conclusions from recent inflation data

The policymaker said the latest figures are encouraging but argued the Fed should not dismiss certain price increases or routinely exclude food costs from core inflation measures.

Summary

Federal Reserve official Schmid said recent inflation data are encouraging, but cautioned that it is still too early to reach firm conclusions. He said monetary policy should stay focused on inflation and argued it is time to stop excluding food prices from core inflation gauges. Schmid also said inflation shocks are not inherently temporary and rejected the idea that the Federal Reserve should ignore some types of price increases, underscoring a cautious stance on how policymakers interpret disinflation signals.

Terms & Concepts
  • core inflation: Inflation measure excluding volatile items
  • monetary policy: Central bank actions guiding borrowing costs
  • Federal Reserve: U.S. central bank setting monetary policy