According to reports by Wu, Beth Hammack, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, stated that inflation is above target and data is distorted, so there is no need to adjust interest rates in the coming months. She pointed out that the November CPI cooling may underestimate the data issues caused by the government shutdown, with actual inflation possibly close to 2.9%–3.0%. Before a clearer assessment of the impact of tariffs on prices and the economy, she prefers to keep the policy interest rate in the range of 3.5%–3.75% at least until next spring, and believes that the current rate may be close to or slightly below neutral levels.
