Federal Reserve Watch for Oct. 1: Jefferson Says May Take Time for FOMC to Decide on Further Rate Increase

03:23 PM EDT, 10/01/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson (voter) said that he supported the interest rate increase at the September FOMC meeting but said that it may take time for the committee to decide on a further increase and that more data will allow the FOMC to make the correct decision. Recent comments of note: (Sept. 30) Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari (voter) said that he expects the FOMC will need to raise rates one more time in 2026, noting that the recent milder inflation data did not alter his impression that price pressures are too high and need to be brough down. (Sept. 30) Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee (nonvoter) noted a growing divergence between how households view the US economy and what the hard data shows, complicating the Fed's job and putting the emphasis on incoming information. (Sept. 30) Fed Governor Lisa Cook (voter) repeated that she remains committed to lowering inflation, which has been elevated for too long. (Sept. 29) Fed Governor Michael Barr (voter) repeated that further rate increases are likely to ensure that inflation moves down toward the 2% target, noting that risks to inflation have increased while risks to the labor market have decreased. (Sept. 29) New York Fed President John Williams (voter) said that it is "imperative" for the FOMC to bring inflation down toward its 2% target but said that after the rate increase at the last FOMC meeting, the Committee now has time to receive more information before acting again. He said that his expectation is for one more rate increase this year. (Sept. 29) St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem (nonvoter) said that clear communication on the part of the Fed promotes better outcomes but did not suggest that the FOMC needs to give forward guidance for its exact rate path. Rather the FOMC should communicate "the framework for how and why policy is determined."