{
  "id": 27044,
  "title": "Fed's Barkin: It's a close call whether interest rates are high enough",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/07/31/feds-barkin-its-a-close-call-whether-interest-rates-are-high-enough",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-07-31T18:24:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "FXStreet",
    "slug": "fxstreet",
    "url": "https://www.fxstreet.com/news/feds-barkin-its-a-close-call-whether-interest-rates-are-high-enough-202607311824"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Richmond Federal Reserve President Tom Barkin expressed uncertainty on Friday about whether the current interest rates are sufficient to curb inflation and reach the Fed's 2% target. He also questioned if he would have joined the three dissenting committee members who advocated for a 25 basis point rate increase during the recent policy meeting. The Fed maintained unchanged interest rates, while Governors Lorie Logan, Beth Hammack, and Neel Kashkari pushed for an immediate hike. Barkin indicated skepticism that the labor market has improved significantly and noted that price increases are spreading unevenly throughout the economy.",
  "summary": "Richmond Federal Reserve (Fed) President Tom Barkin said on Friday that it remains uncertain whether the current level of interest rates is sufficiently restrictive to bring inflation back to the Fed's 2% target, according to an interview with The Wall Street Journal.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Straits Times Business",
        "title": "US Fed dissenters call for rate hikes over sustained inflation",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/07/31/us-fed-dissenters-call-for-rate-hikes-over-sustained-inflation",
        "published": "2026-07-31T14:41:56.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "WSJ Economy",
        "title": "Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said it is “a close call” whether the central bank’s interest-rate setting is high enough to bring inflation down",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/07/31/richmond-fed-president-tom-barkin-said-it-is-a-close-call-whether-the",
        "published": "2026-07-31T16:49:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}