Fed’s Barkin looks forward to more clarity on economy as data flow resumes

By Howard Schneider

WINCHESTER, Virginia (Reuters) -Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin said on Tuesday he hopes coming data and ongoing community ​interviews will help clarify where the economy is heading, with U.S.‌ central bank policymakers still facing tension between their inflation and employment goals.

“On net, we are ‌seeing pressure on both sides of our mandate, with inflation above our target and job growth down,” Barkin said in comments prepared for delivery to an economic summit at Shenandoah University in Virginia. “But we also see mitigants on both sides,” ⁠with consumers pushing back on ‌price increases and a drop in labor supply keeping the unemployment rate stable.

But the lack of official data has made it difficult to be ‍certain where the Fed stands, Barkin said.

While credit card data and corporate earnings, for example, suggest economic growth remains healthy, it is also clear that some sectors and households are ​struggling, he said. While the job market overall seems in balance, ‌it seems less so once firms describe the situation in more detail, Barkin added.

“With the exception of skilled trades, labor feels quite available with plenty of quality applicants per opening. Recent layoff announcements by sizable firms like Amazon, Verizon, and Target give additional cause for caution,” he said.

Barkin, who is not ⁠a voting member of the policy-setting Federal Open ​Market Committee this year, did not indicate whether ​or not he supports another interest rate cut at the central bank’s December 9-10 meeting, an issue that continues to divide his ‍colleagues.

The Fed’s current ⁠situation, which he likened to docking a boat at night without a lighthouse, “is not a particularly comfortable place to be,” he said.⁠ “I am looking forward to some illumination” as the official data flow resumes.

“I think ‌we have a lot to learn between now and then.”

(Reporting ‌by Howard Schneider; Editing by Paul Simao)