Central Banks

Fed’s Barkin Focused on ‘Last Mile’ to Inflation Target

President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Thomas Barkin

Photographer: Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Tom Barkin said last year’s interest-rate reductions have helped bolster the labor market as officials now look to bring inflation back down to the central bank’s target.

“I think of these cuts as having taken out some insurance to support the labor market as we work to complete the last mile to bring inflation back to target,” Barkin said Tuesday at an event in Columbia, South Carolina.