MNI BRIEF: Fed’s Goolsbee-More Moderate Rate Increases To Come

The Federal Reserve may need to tighten monetary policy a little bit further this year but has already done most of the work in raising interest rates to control inflation, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said Friday.

"There are some more moderate increases to come. I'm still undecided" on July, he told CNBC in an interview.

The U.S. job market remains strong but is showing signs of slowing down as it needs to do in order for the Fed to bring inflation back down to target. “We’re getting to a more sustainable pace which is what we need to do for inflation,” Goolsbee said after a Bureau of Labor Statistics employment report showed a weaker-than-expected rise of 209,000 new jobs in June.

Goolsbee downplayed a rise in wage growth. “Wage data is not a leading indicator of where inflation is going to go. It’s a lagging indicator of inflation. Prices move first and then wages,” he said. (See MNI INTERVIEW: Demand-Driven Inflation Rising-Fed's Shapiro)