Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is scheduled to deliver his keynote address at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium on Friday at 10:00 a.m. EDT.
All eyes are on the speech by the world’s most influential central banker, as investors closely watch his remarks on inflation and his plans to return it to the 2% target.
This year’s gathering takes place against a difficult domestic environment, with inflation staying above the Fed’s 2% goal for six consecutive years.
The latest inflation data send mixed signals, supporting both cautious policymakers who prefer to keep rates steady and hawks who want to raise rates as soon as possible.
Officials are strongly divided on whether to leave rates unchanged for now to let inflation decrease naturally or to take immediate action. During his July press conference, Warsh pointed to bond yields rising significantly, suggesting this was positive and indicating that the Fed accepts higher yields to tighten policy through markets. His comments initially caused long-term bond yields to climb, but also led to confusion and eroded market confidence in the Fed’s approach.
Although the sharp decline in U.S. Treasury yields has slowed, yields remain higher than at the beginning of the year, partly due to investor doubts about the Fed’s ability to control inflation.
Markets grew cautious ahead of Friday’s speech, as U.S. futures declined while European futures edged higher.
By CEO NA Editorial Staff
