Top Fed official says interest rates could go higher if inflation persists

A top Federal Reserve official says interest rates could soon be heading higher. Beth Hammack is president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and prefers to keep the benchmark rate unchanged “for quite some time.” But she says an interest rate increase could be appropriate if inflation remains persistently above the central bank’s 2% target. Other Fed officials have recently opened the door to possible rate hikes. President Trump has spent his entire second term harshly criticizing the Fed for not not cutting rates further.