(June 27): Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis president Neel Kashkari said signs of widespread inflation led him to pencil in one interest-rate increase for this year in the central bank’s economic projections released earlier this month.
“I’m concerned about inflation, and it’s not only tied to what’s happening in the Middle East, it’s just the impression of broader inflationary pressures in the economy,” Kashkari said on Friday in an interview with Bloomberg News on the sidelines of the Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colorado.
Inflation, which had shown signs of cooling again at the start of the year after remaining largely unchanged in 2025, surged in the last three months. While the war in Iran drove up oil prices, a broad range of categories have seen prices rise. That has increased concerns among some Fed officials that inflation is more widespread and persistent, and could require more forceful action from the central bank.
A report released earlier this week showed the central bank’s preferred inflation gauge rose 4.1% in the year through May, the most since April 2023. Prices have been above the Fed’s 2% target for more than five years.
Nine of the Fed’s 19 policymakers penciled in at least one rate increase this year in projections released following a policy meeting last week.
Uploaded by Felyx Teoh
