Fed Chair Kevin Warsh at Jackson Hole: 'We have work to do' on inflation

Warsh affirmed during his speech at the Federal Reserve's Kansas City symposium in Jackson Hole that the central bank is prepared to raise interest rates if inflation does not decrease soon. The Fed president indicated that the persistent and high growth in prices has become more concerning. Warsh stated that policy makers would have work to do if the surge in prices in the world's largest economy does not moderate soon, reigniting Wall Street's bets for further rate hikes.

The Federal Reserve should focus primarily on prices at the moment, Warsh said in statements offering his most detailed explanation to date on how he perceives the current economic situation in the United States. Describing the labor market as generally strong, Warsh warned that when it comes to price stability, one of the aspects of our mandate, the figures are more worrying.

Warsh stated that the U.S. central bank has not reached its 2% target for 65 months and indicated that if there is not sufficient progress soon, the central bank would have to raise interest rates from their current level of 3.5-3.75%.