MNI BRIEF: Fed’s Schmid: Want To Be ‘Thoughtful’ On Sept Cut

MNI (WASHINGTON) - The Federal Reserve could be approaching the time to reduce interest rates but it must make sure inflation is coming down sustainably to its 2% target, Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid said Thursday.

“We’ve got some data sets to come in before September, I want to be thoughtful about it,” Schmid told CNBC in an interview.  “I’m taking a harder look at, I’m going to let the data show where we lead.”

He said the last two or three inflation prints look “pretty positive” but added: “That sustainability to 2 is really important.” Schmid said rates are restrictive but not really restrictive. “It’s not overly restrictive for the economy.” (See MNI INTERVIEW: Housing Inflation To Fall Slowly-Fed’s Mehrotra)

"We’ve seen some cooling in the labor market but I think it’s generally pretty strong," he said.