US Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said on Friday that elevated inflation in the world's largest economy was "concerning," as he opened the Federal Reserve's annual economic policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Warsh, who has been reticent to share his views on the economy since taking office, said the central bank's "predominant focus right now should be on prices."

The remarks came at the Kansas City Fed's yearly gathering in Jackson Hole, a closely watched event where the Fed chair traditionally delivers a keynote address outlining the central bank's economic outlook. Markets and economists around the world follow the speech for signals on the direction of monetary policy. Past Jackson Hole addresses have historically been used to telegraph major policy shifts, which is one reason the keynote draws global attention from investors and central bankers alike.

Price stability is one of the Fed's two congressionally mandated goals, alongside maximum employment. Inflation in the United States surged in the years following the pandemic-era stimulus and supply disruptions, prompting the Fed to raise interest rates sharply before beginning to ease policy as price pressures moderated. Warsh, a former Fed governor who was known before taking the chairmanship as a critic of the central bank's large-scale bond-buying programs, has long argued for a tighter focus on inflation, making the emphasis in his keynote consistent with his established views.

Warsh's characterization of inflation as elevated and "concerning," together with his call for the central bank to focus predominantly on prices, signals the weight he places on the inflation side of the mandate as chair. Investors and economists will be watching subsequent Fed communications, including future policy meetings and public remarks by Warsh and other Fed officials, for whether this inflation-first framing translates into the central bank's rate decisions.

Source: Economic Times Markets