Fed’s Collins Backs Slower Pace of Hikes to Get Rates Above 5%

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins said she favors a more moderate pace of interest-rate increases, even as the central bank continues to tighten policy to reduce high inflation.

“Now that rates are in restrictive territory and we may — based on current indicators — be nearing the peak, I believe it is appropriate to have shifted from the initial expeditious pace of tightening to a slower pace,” she told a housing conference hosted by her bank on Thursday. “More measured rate adjustments in the current phase will better enable us to address the competing risks monetary policy now faces.”