Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins said Saturday that she's still leaning against the U.S. central bank cutting its interest rate target next month as it faces ongoing risks to both its inflation and job mandates.
"I do see reasons to be hesitant" about lowering the cost of short-term borrowing at the Dec. 9-10 Federal Open Market Committee meeting. "My own view is that policy is currently in the kind of mildly restrictive range after the 50-basis-point easing that we did in September and October, and that's appropriate" given the current state of the economy, Collins told reporters at a conference at her bank.
The challenge for the Fed right now is that it faces ongoing risks created by above-target inflation while at the same time the job market is softening, she said. For monetary policy, "I see risks on both sides and it's really about balancing those risks."
Collins was asked if she was willing to dissent against a rate cut at the upcoming Fed meeting, which is likely to be unusually fractious for a committee that typically sees policymakers set policy by clear consensus. She said she has not decided what she wants the Fed to do at the meeting and would like to see more data before making a call.
