Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee delivered a blunt assessment on June 25: core inflation is “well too high” and “trending the wrong way.”
The latest data backs him up. Core CPI for May 2026 came in at 2.9% year-over-year, stubbornly above the Fed’s 2% target.
The Fed holds steady, and that’s the problem
The Federal Open Market Committee held the federal funds rate at 3.50%-3.75% at its June 17 meeting.
Goolsbee had already flagged this trajectory days earlier. On June 22, he highlighted the persistent pressure inflation continues to exert, even as the labor market remains stable.
