MNI BRIEF: Kashkari Says Too Soon To Talk About End of Hikes

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said Thursday it's too soon to talk about the end of rate hikes because he's not even sure inflation has peaked.

“I’m not seeing much evidence of cooling in this room," he said during a talk to the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. A San Francisco Fed economist told MNI in an interview this week inflation is likely near a turning point.

“In August and September, inflation rocketed back up again,” and “we need to stay at it until we’re at least sure that inflation has stopped climbing,” Kashkari said. Once it's clear inflation has peaked, a period of seeing "the full effects of our policy" will also be warranted, he said. “I need to be convinced that inflation has at least stopped climbing, that we’re not falling further behind the curve, before I would advocate stopping a progression of future rate hikes."