Philadelphia Fed President Keeps "Open Mind" on Interest Rates

Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Anna Paulson said that she supported last week's decision to keep interest rates unchanged and is maintaining an open mind about future policy moves, depending on how inflation evolves, Jennifer Schonberger reported for Yahoo Finance.

Paulson emphasized that inflation has remained elevated for an extended period and said its persistence remains her primary concern. [Photo: The U.S. Federal Reserve X]

"The recent improvement in some inflation data is welcome," Paulson said during a speech titled "Keeping an Open Mind."

"It is a step in the right direction, but it is only one step … I am keeping an open mind about where policy goes from here," she said.

Paulson said she is focused on gathering more information to better understand inflation trends. Assessing underlying inflation—excluding the temporary effects of tariffs and energy price shocks—she estimated it is running between 2.4% and 2.8%.

Paulson emphasized that inflation has remained elevated for an extended period and said its persistence remains her primary concern as policymakers work toward returning inflation to the Federal Reserve's 2% target.