Fed’s Barkin favors gradual approach as inflation pressure spreads
On Friday, Richmond Federal Reserve President, Thomas Barkin, crossed the wires on SiriusXM Business Briefing. He said that the Fed’s direction of travel is “straightforward,” while noting that the question is the pace.
In the speech, Barkin said that a gradual approach – on rates – is “a good way to go.” He commented that businesses argued that cost pressure had broadened and that they need to raise prices after years of high inflation.
Key highlights:
Direction of travel is "straightforward" for the Fed, the question is pace
A gradual approach is a good way to go right now
A lot of cost pressure is hitting American businesses
In the context of years of elevated inflation, it is easier for businesses to argue they need to raise prices
Resilience of consumer spending has been a surprise given relatively flat incomes
The AI investment surge has pressured supply chains, and that is inflationary
AI investment is leading to demand side inflation, which is the kind of thing the Fed can lean against
Business owners say demand remains solid, with only weakness among non-profits and the housing sector
Businesses say that cost pressure is broad based
Businesses are laying plans to pass those costs on to their customers
US Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Euro.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.16% | -0.15% | -0.13% | -0.22% | -0.09% | -0.01% | -0.16% | |
| EUR | -0.16% | -0.31% | -0.30% | -0.38% | -0.25% | -0.17% | -0.32% | |
| GBP | 0.15% | 0.31% | 0.02% | -0.06% | 0.04% | 0.13% | -0.01% | |
| JPY | 0.13% | 0.30% | -0.02% | -0.07% | 0.05% | 0.12% | -0.01% | |
| CAD | 0.22% | 0.38% | 0.06% | 0.07% | 0.12% | 0.20% | 0.06% | |
| AUD | 0.09% | 0.25% | -0.04% | -0.05% | -0.12% | 0.08% | -0.06% | |
| NZD | 0.00% | 0.17% | -0.13% | -0.12% | -0.20% | -0.08% | -0.14% | |
| CHF | 0.16% | 0.32% | 0.00% | 0.01% | -0.06% | 0.06% | 0.14% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
Author
Christian Borjon Valencia
FXStreet
Markets analyst, news editor, and trading instructor with over 14 years of experience across FX, commodities, US equity indices, and global macro markets.
