Fed official Thomas Barkin supports slowdown in pace of rate hikes

On Monday, Thomas Barkin, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, expressed his support for a slower pace of the Fed’s rate hiking aimed at taming extremely high inflation.

As it was stated by Barkin in his conversation with Bloomberg TV, he favors a smoother way, although it will probably take longer and this might lead to higher rate levels. At the same time, he didn’t mention how high the rates would need to be raised, in his opinion.

Barkin believes that the Fed has to be very cautious about ending rate hikes, as it’s necessary to be sure that it doesn’t happen too soon. According to his words, any discussions of possible monetary softening should be postponed until it’s definitely clear that inflation is taken under control.

Barkin also added that, considering the current situation, great caution should be taken as there’s no full understanding of upcoming consequences. However, he mentioned that he doesn’t mean inaction, but a slower pace of action. According to Barking, the best strategy of risk management is to move not that fast while collecting all the important data.