The Hawkish Whisperer of Jackson Hole Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack's repeated calls for higher interest rates have resonated with inflation hawks, but also highlighted the disconnect between some policymakers and economic reality.
Her remarks at the Fed's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, came against a backdrop of slowing monthly price increases. However, Hammack's assessment was more pessimistic than this might suggest.
She emphasized that the 3% annualized rate of inflation remains far from the Fed's target, and that the longer it stays above objective, the harder it will be to bring it back down.