Fed's Goolsbee: Current employment numbers are solid
Commenting on April labor market data, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee told Bloomberg TV that it was a solid report with 175,000 new jobs.
Key takeaways
"We hit a bump on inflation at the start of the year."
"I don't like committing even to the next meeting."
"Fed must get comfort that recent inflation is not a sign of reacceleration."
"What happened in the job market this year has to be re-normed based on estimates of higher immigration; still trying to analyze that."
"Monetary policy is restrictive; real federal funds rate is as high as it has been in decades."
"We have to get more comfort on whether the Fed is still on a path to lower inflation."
"If the Fed remains restrictive too long, it will have to think about the employment side of the mandate; but current numbers are solid."
Market reaction
The US Dollar Index recovered from daily lows after these comments and was last seen losing 0.25% on the day at 105.06.