Federal Reserve's Mossala: Interest rates need to remain unchanged for some time.

Federal Reserve Chairman Mohamed Mussaleem said on Wednesday that high oil prices could push core inflation nearly a percentage point above the Fed's 2% target for the remainder of the year, potentially requiring the Fed to keep interest rates unchanged. "We're likely to see some transmission of oil prices to core inflation," Mussaleem said, adding that by the end of the year, the underlying measure of price increases would be "slightly below 3%, perhaps around 3%," with further upside risks. Mussaleem said the Fed is likely to keep its policy rate in its current 3.50%-3.75% range "for some time," while monitoring inflation, employment, and economic data in the coming months—a view shared by many of his colleagues. The impact of last year's tariff increases may be fading this quarter, and housing price inflation is also weakening. With rising oil prices, inflation in a range of service sectors remains high, and he would be open to raising rates if inflation starts to rise and could potentially boost inflation expectations. Mussaleem also stated that the oil market represents "the third negative supply shock in 12 months," and coupled with rising tariffs and stricter immigration regulations, the inflation outlook and the job market are at risk, potentially impacting economic growth. He believes that economic growth will slow this year, but will still be between 1.5% and 2%.