Kevin Warsh, barely two months into his tenure as Federal Reserve Chair, made his first appearance on the global central banking stage at the ECB’s annual Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal. He said almost nothing about where rates are headed. Which, in central banking, is itself a statement.
Speaking on a panel alongside ECB President Christine Lagarde and Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem on July 1, Warsh stuck to a familiar refrain: the Fed remains committed to its 2% inflation target, and “prices are too high.”
A hawkish shift hiding in plain sight
Before his confirmation in May 2026, Warsh was widely seen as someone sympathetic to lower interest rates. That version of Warsh didn’t show up in Portugal.
The new chair emphasized central bank independence and doubled down on inflation fighting. No forward guidance ahead of the Fed’s late-July meeting. Just a firm restatement that prices remain elevated.
