St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President William Poole said he would have a ``high hurdle'' for favoring interest-rate cuts if inflation stays near the current pace.
``There would have to be a high hurdle for me to want to be cutting rates if the economy is only marginally and tentatively on the weak side'' and inflation isn't slowing toward 2 percent, Poole said after a speech in New York today.
Poole's comments on inflation differed from the text of his remarks distributed to reporters by the St. Louis Fed beforehand. In that version, Poole said ``inflation is retreating as energy prices stabilize.'' The St. Louis Fed chief told reporters later that that was a previous draft.
My guess is there is some back door political maneuvering going on. Last week, Bernanke clarified the Fed's policy in his Congressional testimony. Bernanke once again focused on inflation. Now Ben wants the Fed to be consistent in its policy orientation.
Reading between the lines, one has to wonder why the speech's text wasn't altered.
