Fed‘s Kashkari says he’s sticking to 5.4% rate hike view after ‘surprising’ jobs report

Fed's Kashkari says he's sticking to 5.4% rate hike view after 'surprising' jobs report

(Reuters) – The Federal Reserve will probably have to raise interest rates to at least 5.4% in order to tame high inflation with the latest jobs report for January showing actions so for have done little to dent the labor market, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said on Tuesday.

“I think it surprised all of us,” Kashkari said in an interview with broadcaster CNBC, referring to a blowout January jobs report in which more than half a million employment gains were reported by the U.S. government.

“Nobody should overreact to one report…but the underlying strength of the services sector of the economy is still very robust. And that‘s where I think a lot of us are focusing our attention… right now I’m still at around 5.4%. If I had to pick a number today, that would be where I was.”