Fed's Collins: Now is not the time to cut rates

Fed's Collins said on Tuesday that people should not be blinded by recent inflation data. "It is too early to conclude whether inflation is returning to the 2% target in a lasting manner," Collins said. "We should not overreact to one or two months of optimistic news, just as we should not get too many signals from disappointing data at the beginning of this year." She also said that it is not time to cut interest rates yet and more evidence is needed that price pressures are easing. Despite this, Collins believes that the economy is likely on the right track: "I am optimistic that we can restore price stability in a reasonable period of time with a healthy labor market." Collins said that overall, the Fed has made "significant progress" in reducing inflation. (Jinshi)