Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said risks to the central bank’s employment and inflation goals are now closer to equal. “The balance of risks to our two mandates has changed — as risks to inflation have diminished and risks to employment have risen, these risks have been brought roughly into balance,” Jefferson said Tuesday in prepared remarks for an event at Davidson College in North Carolina.
Fed officials lowered interest rates at their meeting last month for the first time since the onset of the pandemic, reducing them by a half percentage point. The move came amid further signs of cooling inflation and growing concerns about the labor market. Forecasts released the same day showed the median projection from Fed officials called for an additional 50 basis points in reductions this year, implying smaller, quarter-point cuts at each of their two remaining meetings in 2024.