Fed's Schmid: Inflation is the biggest risk facing the economy

Agustin Wazne FXStreet

Jeffrey Schmid, President of the Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of Kansas City, said on Thursday that inflation remains the primary threat to the US economy, while raising questions about whether the Fed may need to keep interest rates elevated or even tighten policy further to ensure price stability.

Speaking during a fireside chat at the Bank of Kansas City Economic Forum, Schmid noted that recent economic data continues to point to a resilient economy.

Key takeaways

Data suggests the economy is doing well.

Inflation is too high; it has been a five-year fight and the Fed is still trying to figure it out.

Most of the higher prices people are paying for energy are staying in the US economy.

The big question for oil is how long prices stay high, and that is a political decision.

The biggest risk facing the economy right now is inflation.

The big question now is whether the Fed should stay patient on rates.

The issue is whether the Fed needs to raise rates to 'tamp this thing down' and meet the inflation target.

The 2% target is easy to communicate, and the Fed should not blur the message around that."

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 Canadian Dollar.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		-0.19%	-0.07%	-0.08%	0.03%	-0.13%	-0.14%	-0.40%
EUR	0.19%		0.11%	0.13%	0.22%	0.04%	-0.04%	-0.21%
GBP	0.07%	-0.11%		0.02%	0.10%	-0.06%	-0.16%	-0.33%
JPY	0.08%	-0.13%	-0.02%		0.08%	-0.08%	-0.18%	-0.34%
CAD	-0.03%	-0.22%	-0.10%	-0.08%		-0.16%	-0.26%	-0.43%
AUD	0.13%	-0.04%	0.06%	0.08%	0.16%		-0.08%	-0.24%
NZD	0.14%	0.04%	0.16%	0.18%	0.26%	0.08%		-0.17%
CHF	0.40%	0.21%	0.33%	0.34%	0.43%	0.24%	0.17%

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

Agustin Wazne

FXStreet

Agustin Wazne joined FXStreet as a Junior News Editor, focusing on Commodities and covering Majors.

AUD/USD eyes 0.7150 barrier nine-day EMA

AUD/USD inches higher after registering modest losses in the previous day, trading around 0.7130 during the Asian hours. The technical analysis of the daily chart indicates that the pair is moving sideways within the rectangle pattern, suggesting a consolidation as neither the bulls nor the bears have enough momentum to take control of the market.

USD/JPY trades below 160.00 intervention threshold; bullish bias intact

The USD/JPY pair attracts some sellers during the Asian session amid fears that authorities will step in again to prop up the Japanese Yen. Furthermore, the Israel-Lebanon truce prompts some profit-taking around the US Dollar and exerts downward pressure on the currency pair.

Gold puts its 200-day SMA to the test near $4,420

Gold keeps the bullish stance in place in the latter part of Thursday’s session, although a convincing break above the key $4,500 mark per troy ounce still remains elusive. The precious metal’s advance comes amid the resurgence of some selling interest around the Greenback, improving risk sentiment, and declining US Treasury yields across the board.

Bitcoin’s massive storm is back: Why the sell-off is far from over

Bitcoin price action over the last few weeks has felt less like a normal, healthy correction and more like a slow grinding crash that continues to wreak havoc on holdings and trading accounts. And everything suggests that the dramatic crash isn’t over.

Nonfarm payrolls: Testing the limits of Fed policy patience

The upcoming nonfarm payrolls report for May will provide the final update on the US labor market before Kevin Warsh attends his first policy meeting as the new Fed Chair later this month.

Recession on paper: What really moves the Canadian Loonie now?

Statistics Canada handed the headline writers a gift and the analysts a headache. Real GDP shrank 0.1% on an annualized basis in the first quarter, and with the fourth quarter of 2025 revised down to a 1.0% contraction, that is two negative quarters in a row, the textbook definition of a technical recession and Canada's first since the pandemic.