Richmond Fed president urges caution on interest rate cuts because inflation isn’t defeated

AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Federal Reserve official says he supports reducing the central bank’s key interest rate somewhat from its current level. But Tom Barkin, the president of the Federal Reserve’s Richmond branch, says he isn’t yet ready for the Fed to fully take its foot off the economy’s brakes. In an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, Barkin also said the economy is showing impressive strength. He highlighted recent solid reports on retail sales, unemployment claims, and growth in the April-June quarter, which reached a healthy 3%.