Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of New York President John Williams said inflation data over recent months has been encouraging, but he needs to see more progress.

Readings from the last three months are “getting us closer to a disinflationary trend that we’re looking for”, he said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Wednesday. “These are positive signs. I would like to see more data to gain further confidence inflation is moving sustainably to our 2% goal.” The interview was conducted on Tuesday.

Fed officials have signalled they are moving closer to cutting interest rates, though most - including Chair Jerome Powell - have stopped short of offering any guidance on the timing of such a move. Policymakers will meet next on July 30-31, but investors are betting they won’t begin rate reductions until their September gathering.

“I feel like the stance of policy right now is working well,” Williams said. “If we get more data like this, I think that I would find myself finding that greater confidence” that inflation is moving sustainably to 2%.

US central bankers said in June that they were waiting for “greater confidence” that inflation was decelerating sustainably toward their 2% target before lowering their policy rate, which they’ve held at a more than two-decade high for about a year. Recent data has shown a renewed easing in price pressures, with a key gauge of consumer prices posting the smallest advance since 2021 in June.

  - Bloomberg