(Reuters) – San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly said it is time to consider adjusting borrowing costs from their current range of 5.25% to 5.5%, in an interview with the Financial Times published on Sunday.
“Gradualism is not weak, it’s not slow, it’s not behind, it’s just prudent,” Daly said to the newspaper, adding the labor market, while slowing, was “not weak.”
In remarks earlier this month, she said it is too soon to know if the July jobs report signals a slowdown or real weakness, but cautioned it is “extremely important” to prevent the labor market tipping into a downturn. She was “more confident” that inflation is headed toward the 2% goal.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to deliver remarks on the economic outlook on Friday, the first full day of the Kansas City Fed’s annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
(Reporting by Urvi Dugar; Editing by Chris Reese)