Fed's Barkin: Rates May Not Be High Enough

Fed's Barkin Says It's a 'Close Call' Whether Rates Are High Enough -- WSJ Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said it is "a close call" whether the Central bank's interest-rate setting is high enough to bring inflation down, and that he didn't know whether he would have joined three fellow regional Fed presidents who voted this week for higher rates. "I think there is a strong case there" for adding restraint and taking back some of last year's rate cuts, Barkin said in an interview Friday.

After a softer inflation Reading in June, "I think you could also make a case...that there's time before the next set of meetings" to determine whether the current setting is adequate, he said.

The Fed held its Benchmark rate steady Wednesday in a range between 3.5% and 3.75%, where it has been since December, at Chairman Kevin Warsh's second meeting leading the Central bank.

Barkin doesn't vote on rate decisions until next year.

In nine years as Richmond Fed President he has built a practice of describing what he is learning from businesses, colleges, and community groups across his district rather than opining on where rates should go.

He thinks his views on interest-rate policy can be more influential if shared privately with the chair and his colleagues rather than "in the public square," he said.