MNI BRIEF: Some Fed Members Flag More Balanced Inflation Risks

Minutes from the Fed's January meeting showed "participants generally viewed the risks to the outlook for inflation as having become more balanced" even if most still see overall risks as tilted downward.

"As an upside risk to inflation, several participants noted the potential for pandemic-related supply constraints to affect price inflation somewhat more than anticipated or for price increases among industries most adversely affected by the pandemic to be more pronounced than projected," the minutes said.

A recent MNI interview with St. Louis Fed economist David Andolfatto flagged the risks of a more prolonged bout of inflation than many policy makers are forecasting.