Fed's Warsh sees US economic tailwinds, mum on rate-path view

BANGKOK — Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh voiced optimism on Friday about U.S. economic strength and surprise about how well global economies have been "hanging in there" amid recent geopolitical shocks, despite tighter monetary policy to fight inflation. "I came out of meetings here yesterday and today and it's hard to be in a discussion with central bankers and not compare notes and hear the same thing about the surge in prices," Warsh said. With inflation a "common challenge," he said at the 2026 IMF-World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, global central banks undertook "a synchronous tightening in monetary policy in most places around the world, and that means there's no free riders." In the U.S., he said, "We made very clear that we would deliver price stability, and we removed a dose of accommodation about a month ago," in a reference to the Fed's September interest-rate hike. No preview of need for more rate hikes But in keeping with his style since taking the reins as Fed chief in May, he gave no preview about whether he feels more interest-rate hikes will be needed, or when