Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr said additional interest-rate increases may be needed to bring inflation back to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target in a timely manner. Speaking at a Chicago Fed housing affordability conference, Barr said inflation remains above target and is not clearly moving downward, while risks to achieving the inflation goal have increased and labor-market risks have receded. He said economic growth was strong and the labor market solid. The Federal Reserve unanimously raised its policy rate by a quarter percentage point last week to a 3.75%-4.00% range, and 16 of 18 policymakers indicated that at least one more increase would probably be needed before year-end. Barr’s remarks suggested he sees at least two further hikes as necessary, although he did not specify a timetable. He said policymakers had previously been out of position after tariffs, geopolitical conflicts, disruptions linked to Russia’s war on Ukraine and increased investment demand tied to the artificial-intelligence build-out complicated the inflation outlook. His comments were more specific about the policy path than Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh’s refusal to offer forward guidance. Barr’s speech focused mainly on housing affordability, which he said had been worsened by limited supply and high mortgage rates. The average rate on a U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reached 7.12% last week, more than a two-year high. Richmond Fed president Tom Barkin and Chicago Fed president Austan Goolsbee have also warned that supply-side pressures may not fade quickly.