Anggota Dewan Federal Reserve, Milan, menyatakan bahwa ekspektasi kenaikan suku bunga berasal dari data inflasi

The Federal Reserve Board member Stephen Milun stated that due to disappointing inflation data since the last forecast in December, he has raised his expectation for the end-of-year interest rate level by 0.5 percentage points.

“I have raised my forecast for the policy interest rate by 0.5 percentage points, not because of oil prices and Iran, but because of the inflation data we received,” Milun said at an event in New York on Wednesday, referring to the economic forecasts released by policymakers after last week’s policy meeting. “This puts my forecast roughly at a neutral level.”

Milun voted against the decision to keep interest rates unchanged at the Federal Reserve meeting on March 18, advocating for a 25 basis point cut. Officials acknowledged that the impact of the Iran war on the economy is highly uncertain, and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated that policymakers want to see further progress in inflation.

Milun said that a 1 percentage point cut this year remains appropriate, aiming to bring interest rates back to a neutral level.

“I don’t think the economy needs a strong monetary policy push to accelerate growth,” he said, “but I also don’t think it needs to be suppressed, and current policies are somewhat tight, restraining the economy.”