Fed’s Barkin: U.S. economy is remarkably strong, few wage pressures

FAIRFAX, Va (Reuters) – The U.S. economy is remarkably strong but the strong jobs market is not causing outsized wage pressures, the Federal Reserve’s newest regional Fed president said on Monday in his first major speech on monetary policy since he was appointed.

“The economy’s performance as we sit here today is remarkably strong: above trend growth, low unemployment, inflation at target,” Richmond Fed president Thomas Barkin told an audience at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He is a voting member of the Fed’s rate-setting committee this year.

The Fed unanimously decided to raise rates in March and currently forecasts another two increases this year, although an increasing number of policymakers see three as possible.

Barkin, who was previously an executive at global consulting firm McKinsey & Co, also said that the robust jobs market is not causing an “outsized” increase in wages.

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