Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin attends a conversation with the Economic Club of Washington DC in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 9, 2025.
Kevin Mohatt | Reuters
Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin said Thursday that he expects the central bank will have to raise interest rates further, though he’s not sure by how much or at what pace.
In a CNBC interview from his home district, the policymaker expressed concern over inflation and said monetary policy will need to adjust.
“Unemployment’s near record lows, and inflation is too high. That means the path is pretty straightforward. The question, of course, is pace,” Barkin said in the talk with CNBC’s Steve Liesman.
“Gradual makes sense if you think there’s uncertainty in the world, and if you think that there’s information you’re going to get in the period. And I think that’s still a pace that makes sense to me,” he added.
Barkin’s comments come a little more than a week after his colleagues voted to keep the Fed’s benchmark overnight borrowing rate anchored in a range between 3.75% and 4%. While Barkin is not a voting member on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee now, he will be in 2027.
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