Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins said on Tuesday that the central bank is “quite likely” to keep current interest rates steady for “some time,” and said that the that the Fed’s monetary policy is well positioned for risks.
“It does seem to me that a patient and deliberate approach is appropriate at this stage, because, you know, I think that after 175 basis points of easing over the past year and a half, that we’re at a mildly restrictive, perhaps quite close to neutral [policy] already,” Collins said at the 2026 Technology-Enabled Disruption Conference.
Collins also said that the latest tariff news hasn’t changed the outlook much and that the nation’s economy shows a “benign” outlook when it comes to inflation and wage growth. She also stated that the effects from the tariffs likely will become more pronounced as costs pass to consumers.
Waller Says Fed Might Skip a Rate Cut
Her remarks come after those Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller who said on Monday that solid job gains in January could mean the Fed can skip a rate cut at its next meeting in March. Waller made his remarks to a conference held by the National Association for Business Economists.
Holding steady would likely spur more attacks by President Donald Trump, the Associated Press reported.
Waller said last month’s pickup in hiring, when employers added a more-than-expected 130,000 jobs, could have been a one-time gain, and he said he would need to see a similarly positive report next month to conclude the job market is improving. He previously said the job market was very weak in 2025.
The AP noted that Waller’s hedging is a notable shift from January, when he was one of the two Fed governors to dissent against the central bank’s decision to hold its key rate steady after three rate cuts at the end of last year.
On Tuesday, Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said that more evidence is needed that inflation is on the way down before interest rate cuts would be appropriate.
Inflation is Off its Highs
Recent indicators show that inflation is off its highs but still above the Fed’s 2% target, Goolsbee said. He noted that policymakers “have been burned by assuming transitory inflation” in the past and shouldn’t make the same mistake again.
“I feel that front-loading too many rate cuts is not prudent in that circumstance,” Goolsbee said in remarks before the National Association for Business Economics at its annual gathering in Washington, D.C. “People express that prices are one of their most pressing concerns. Let’s pay attention. Before we cut rates more to stimulate the economy, let’s be sure inflation is heading back to 2%.”
CNBC noted that the most recent inflation data, for December, revealed that core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was running at 3%, as measured by the consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s primary forecasting gauge.
