Nick Timiraos, the chief economics reporter of the Wall Street Journal, known as the “voice of the Federal Reserve,” stated on Wednesday via the social media platform X that the central bank could lower interest rates due to good or bad news. However, due to new inflation risks, the window for lowering rates in response to “good news” is gradually closing, and the Fed’s rate projections, represented in the “dot plot,” do not fully reflect this policy shift.
Timiraos’s remarks may reflect the current policy uncertainty within the U.S. Federal Reserve. In an article published today, he indicated that Fed officials expect to maintain interest rates after concluding a two-day meeting on Wednesday, but beneath the surface, their decision-making is undergoing a transformation.
Jay Bryson, chief economist at Wells Fargo, remarked that the current situation has placed the Fed in a dilemma: “If inflation rises, you should tighten monetary policy. On the other hand, if the unemployment rate rises, you need to loosen policy.”
Former President of the Boston Federal Reserve Bank, Eric Rosengren, stated:
Rosengren added that he originally expected tariffs to keep the Fed on hold for most of this year, but he was also surprised by the recent increase in tariffs, believing it to be greater than his earlier expectations.
