Kevin Warsh: Inflation in the US remains extremely high

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh affirmed that inflation remains excessively high, noting the potential need for further measures if core inflation does not move clearly and swiftly enough toward the central bank’s 2 percent target.

In his first speech as Fed chair, delivered at the annual Jackson Hole conference in Wyoming, Warsh said, “We must be confident that core inflation is moving clearly and swiftly toward our goal,” adding that price stability remains the Fed’s primary mandate.

He added that broad inflation measures have declined notably from their 2022 peaks, but progress over the past two years has remained modest. While readings of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over the summer came in better than expected, they do not reflect a tangible improvement in underlying inflation trends.

U.S. stocks fluctuated during the speech, while the yield on the two-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 4.30 percent, up from about 4.23 percent prior to the address. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by approximately 0.1 percent.