Federal Reserve Board Member Barr: Interest rates may need to remain unchanged "for a period of time"

MaticHoleFiller · 2026-04-03T07:06:47+00:00

Federal Reserve Board member Michael Barr stated that in the face of inflation above 2%, policymakers may need to keep interest rates unchanged "for a period of time," especially when assessing the economic situation. He supports the Fed maintaining the benchmark interest rate and pointed out that the Middle East situation is putting pressure on oil prices and middle- and low-income households.

MaticHoleFiller

2026-04-03 07:06:47

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Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr said policymakers may need to keep interest rates unchanged “for some time” in order to address inflation that is clearly higher than the central bank’s 2% target.

“Although I hope that as the impact of tariffs on prices fades later this year, the inflation rate will come down, before considering any further cuts to the policy rate, I want to see evidence that goods and services price inflation is sustainably easing, provided that labor market conditions remain stable,” Barr said Tuesday in remarks prepared for an event in Phoenix.

Barr said he supports the decision by the Federal Reserve last week to keep its benchmark rate unchanged for a second consecutive meeting.

Barr said the situation in the Middle East brings “additional risks.” He said that rising oil prices often quickly feed into gasoline prices, putting particular pressure on lower- and middle-income households.

“I think that in assessing the economic outlook, we may need to keep interest rates unchanged for some time,” he said.

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