Washington, Sept. 24 (SANA) U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr said further monetary policy adjustments would likely be needed to bring inflation back to the central bank’s 2% target in a timely manner, after supporting last week’s increase in the policy rate.
Speaking Wednesday at the Housing Affordability 2026: A Community Development Summit, hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Barr said economic growth remained strong and the labor market solid, but inflation was still above the Fed’s target and was not clearly moving toward it quickly enough.
“In my base case, further policy adjustments are likely to be needed to ensure inflation comes down to target in a timely fashion,” Barr said.
Barr said risks to achieving the Fed’s inflation target had increased while risks to the labor market had receded, requiring monetary policy to be recalibrated to reflect the changing balance of risks.
He said the Federal Open Market Committee took action the previous week by increasing the policy rate, a decision he supported. Barr described the move as an adjustment “in the right direction.”
The Fed’s official calendar confirms that the Federal Open Market Committee met on Sept. 15-16.
Barr said the central bank was seeking to support sustainable and durable economic growth consistent with maximum employment, stressing that price stability was crucial to achieving that goal.
Barr’s broader speech focused on U.S. housing affordability. He said high home prices and rents relative to household income and savings had made housing increasingly unaffordable for many Americans.
He cited estimates putting the U.S. housing supply shortfall at roughly 2 million to 5.5 million units, depending on methodology and regional differences. He also said about half of U.S. renters were spending at least 30% of their income on rent.
Barr said mortgage rates remained high compared with pre-pandemic levels, while high home prices, insurance costs and property taxes were adding to affordability pressures.
The Federal Reserve seeks to achieve maximum employment and stable prices, with a longer-run inflation target of 2%.
R A H / R.K
