New York Fed President: "Price increases from latter half of this year... 'Trump tariff' effect"

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has predicted that prices will rise within this year due to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.

John Williams, President of the New York Fed, said at the Bloomberg Invest New York event on the 4th (local time), "We are considering the impact of tariffs on inflation and prices," adding, "I think some of these effects will be seen by the latter half of this year."

He pointed out that the impact of consumer goods tariffs being reflected in import prices and raising consumer prices occurs "relatively quickly." He also added that there is uncertainty about how tariffs will affect actual economic activity, and they are considering how this will impact business investment and consumer spending.

President Williams mentioned, "There have been movements in data anticipating tariffs over the past few months," saying this is "another point with significant uncertainty."

However, regarding monetary policy, he assessed that it is "in a very good position." This means there is no need to adjust interest rates immediately. He explained, "Current monetary policy is moderately restrictive and helps maintain economic balance."

Regarding the inflation outlook, he predicted it would move toward the target of 2%.

Previously, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also stated there was no need to rush interest rate cuts. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to hold a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on the 18th-19th to decide on monetary policy adjustments.

Oh Se-sung, Hankyung.com reporter sesung@hankyung.com