Lisa Cook warns Fed will hike rates if inflation persists
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook just made it clear: if inflation doesn't cool off soon, she's ready to bump up interest rates.
Speaking in Alaska, Cook said getting prices under control is her top priority.
Inflation has been above the Fed's 2% goal for more than five years, though it did dip a bit to 3.5% in June.
She warned that waiting too long could make high prices harder to fix, since they can get locked into people's expectations.
Fed vote splits amid global risks
Last week at the Fed's big policy meeting, Cook and most members voted to keep rates steady between 3.5% and 3.75%, but three officials actually wanted a small hike right away.
Cook pointed out things like trade tariffs, the Middle East conflict, and all the money flowing into AI as reasons for being careful about raising rates too fast.
Meanwhile, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, who has been on the job for less than three months, also wants to keep inflation in check but hasn't set any dates for future hikes.
The debate for officials has become whether one good inflation report is enough to shake off concerns around prices and whether they would be raising interest rates too soon as a result, potentially stunting economic growth.