Fed’s Miran Says ‘Underlying’ Inflation Close to Target

Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran again argued the central bank’s policy stance is unnecessarily restrictive on the economy, pointing to his benign outlook for inflation and warning signs in the labor market.

Miran said he expects shelter inflation to ease as rent increases normalize from spikes during the Covid-19 pandemic. He argued that services inflation — excluding housing, food and energy — isn’t likely to see upward pressures because of a cooling labor market. He said some drivers of services inflation, such as portfolio management fees, reflect statistical quirks rather than actual consumer experience of prices.