Beth Hammack, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, dissented at the July 2026 FOMC meeting, advocating for a 25 basis point rate hike while the committee chose to hold rates steady at 3.5-3.75%. Core PCE inflation, the Fed’s preferred gauge, stood at 3.3% in June 2026, while core CPI reached 2.6%, with inflation having exceeded the 2% target for more than five years. Hammack argues that public patience is wearing thin and that delaying rate hikes only makes the eventual correction more painful. She believes the current rate range is not meaningfully restricting economic activity and that multiple rate increases may be necessary. Her position reflects a shift in the FOMC weighing its dual mandate back toward price stability as the dominant priority.
Source: Read the original article
