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Fed's Williams: Natural rate of interest is hard to pin down
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FED’S HAMMACK: 'NOT OBVIOUS' U.S. CENTRAL BANK SHOULD CUT INTEREST RATES AGAIN GIVEN INFLATION Fed's Hammack: It will take two to three years to get inflation back to 2%. FED'S HAMMACK: MONETARY POLICY IS 'ONLY BARELY RESTRICTIVE, IF AT ALL' 
Balancing Act: The Dual Mandate on an Economic Tightrope My thanks to the Economic Club of New York for inviting me to speak today and to Bill Dudley for moderating what I’m sure will be an engaging discussion. As many of you know, I lived and worked in New York for 30 years before moving to Cleveland to begin my new role at the Federal Reserve. I love Cleveland, and I love talking with friends and neighbors about all the great things to see and do in Northeast Ohio. But I have to chuckle when the topic turns to Cleveland traffic, which is nothing compared to the endless gridlock that I experienced in Manhattan—before congestion pricing kicked in, of course. Some of you might be thinking, just take the subway! If only the decision were that simple. When I lived in New York, I faced the daily debate about the comfort of a cab or the certainty of subway timing. But even once in the subway, I faced the maddening choice: do I jump on the local 1 train pulling into the station or wait for the express 3 train that says it’s four minutes away? Getting around New York is a balancing act to optimize every second of every day, and right now a balancing act feels like the perfect metaphor for monetary policy: If the economy is a tightrope, policymakers are tasked with walking a fine line to keep our dual mandate goals of maximum employment and price stability in balance. Today I’m going to talk about why I believe policy should be at a mildly restrictive setting to strike the right balance between our goals. But let me stress the “I” part of that sentence and indicate, as always, that these are only my views and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve System or of my colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
Balancing Act: The Dual Mandate on an Economic Tightrope My thanks to the Economic Club of New York for inviting me to speak today and to Bill Dudley for moderating what I’m sure will be an engaging discussion. As many of you know, I lived and worked in New York for 30 years before moving to Cleveland to begin my new role at the Federal Reserve. I love Cleveland, and I love talking with friends and neighbors about all the great things to see and do in Northeast Ohio. But I have to chuckle when the topic turns to Cleveland traffic, which is nothing compared to the endless gridlock that I experienced in Manhattan—before congestion pricing kicked in, of course. Some of you might be thinking, just take the subway! If only the decision were that simple. When I lived in New York, I faced the daily debate about the comfort of a cab or the certainty of subway timing. But even once in the subway, I faced the maddening choice: do I jump on the local 1 train pulling into the station or wait for the express 3 train that says it’s four minutes away? Getting around New York is a balancing act to optimize every second of every day, and right now a balancing act feels like the perfect metaphor for monetary policy: If the economy is a tightrope, policymakers are tasked with walking a fine line to keep our dual mandate goals of maximum employment and price stability in balance. Today I’m going to talk about why I believe policy should be at a mildly restrictive setting to strike the right balance between our goals. But let me stress the “I” part of that sentence and indicate, as always, that these are only my views and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve System or of my colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
<=USD>:*FED'S GOOLSBEE: INDICATORS SHOW A LOT OF LABOR MARKET STABILITY *GOOLSBEE: I STILL THINK THERE IS MILD COOLING IN LABOR MARKET FED'S GOOLSBEE: MOST OF LABOR MARKET INDICATORS SHOW STABILITY IN MARKET -- CNBC INTERVIEW SHOULD BE CAREFUL TAKING PAYROLL JOB NUMBER DROP AS AN INDICATOR OF JOB MARKET MILD COOLING IN LABOR MARKET UNEMPLOYMENT RATE BASICALLY UNCHANGED A LITTLE DOWNSIDE RISK TO LABOR… FED'S GOOLSBEE: I MAYBE RELUCTANT TO CONTINUE THE RATE CUTTING CYCLE. GOOLSBEE: VERY LITTLE PRIVATE SECTOR INFORMATION ABOUT INFLATION, WILL SOME TIME BEFORE WE SEE ANY PROBLEMS MAKES ME MORE UNEASY WITH FRONTLOADING RATE CUTS CAN'T COUNT ON INFLATION BEING TRANSITORY CONSUMER SPENDING STRONG, GROWTH IS STRONG GOOLSBEE: FOR DATA TO GO DARK RIGHT AT THE MOMENT WE SAW SERVICES INFLATION RISING IS UNCOMFORTABLE NOT HAWKISH ON RATES SETTLING POINT FOR RATES WILL BE FAIR BELOW WHERE IT IS TODAY
At its meeting ending on 5 November 2025, the Monetary Policy Committee voted by a majority of 5–4 to maintain Bank Rate at 4%. Four members voted to reduce Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 3.75%. CPI inflation is judged to have peaked. Progress on underlying disinflation continues, supported by the still restrictive stance of monetary policy. This is reflected in an easing of pay growth and services price inflation. Underlying disinflation is being underpinned by subdued economic growth and building slack in the labour market. Monetary policy is being set to balance the risks around meeting the 2% inflation target sustainably. The risk from greater inflation persistence has become less pronounc *BANK OF ENGLAND HOLDS KEY INTEREST RATE AT 4% IN 5-4 VOTE BOE MPC: MORE EVIDENCE IS NEEDED TO BE SURE THAT CPI IS ON TRACK TO RETURN TO 2%. BOE: PROGRESS ON DISINFLATION INDICATES BANK RATE LIKELY TO CONTINUE GRADUAL DOWNWARD PATH: "GRADUAL AND CAREFUL APPROACH" TO FURTHER WITHDRAWAL OF MONETARY POLICY RESTRAINT... Bank of England keeps key interest rate unchanged at 4% as inflation remains markedly above target The Bank of England has kept its main interest rate unchanged at 4% as inflation in the U.K. remains markedly above target and policymakers await this month’s budget from the U.K. government, which could be one of the most consequential in years. Thursday’s decision by the nine-member rate-setting body was widely anticipated, though some economists thought there was a chance that borrowing rates would be reduced by a further quarter of a percentage point. The vote was tight though, with five voting for unchanged rates and four backing a cut. “We still think rates are on a gradual path downwards, but we need to be sure that inflation is on track to return to our 2% target before we cut them
Bank of England keeps key interest rate unchanged at 4% as inflation remains markedly above target The Bank of England has kept its main interest rate unchanged at 4% as inflation in the U.K. remains markedly above target and policymakers await this month’s budget from the U.K. government, which could be one of the most consequential in years. Thursday’s decision by the nine-member rate-setting body was widely anticipated, though some economists thought there was a chance that borrowing rates would be reduced by a further quarter of a percentage point. The vote was tight though, with five voting for unchanged rates and four backing a cut. “We still think rates are on a gradual path downwards, but we need to be sure that inflation is on track to return to our 2% target before we cut them
