Fed's Barkin: Sticky inflation, better jobs data could shift the risk outlook for the Fed - BBG TV

WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - Richmond Fed president Tom Barkin said still ‌high inflation and stronger recent jobs ‌numbers may shift the Fed's risk outlook ​at a time when the U.S. conflict with Iran could further push up key consumer prices.

Fed rate cuts last ‌year were based ⁠on "the sense that the risks of the labor market were ⁠up while the risk to inflation were down. The data that's come ​in over ​the last ​couple months suggests ‌it has moved in the other direction," Barkin said on Bloomberg Television.

"With the PCE numbers that we're expecting next week, you've got a couple months ‌of relatively high inflation. ​That certainly puts pause ​to any ​conclusion that we're done ‌fighting this," Barkin said of ​a ​coming report expected to show the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index still ​about a ‌percentage point above the Fed's ​2% target.

(Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing ​by Chizu Nomiyama)