Federal Reserve official Hamaq: May need to raise interest rates if inflation continues to exceed target.

Federal Reserve Board member Harker stated that if the inflation rate continues to exceed the Federal Reserve's 2% target, then raising interest rates may be appropriate. Harker expressed that she would prefer officials to keep interest rates unchanged for "quite a while". She also envisioned scenarios where rates may need to be raised or lowered. Harker stated, "If the labor market significantly deteriorates, I can foresee a scenario where we need to lower rates." "Or, if inflation continues to exceed our target, I can also foresee a scenario where we may need to raise rates," she said. Harker mentioned that the Cleveland Fed's estimates show that the inflation rate could reach 3.5% in April. "Inflation has been consistently above our target level for more than five years now, and if it continues to rise, it indicates that inflation is moving in the wrong direction, deviating from our 2% target," Harker said.