Cleveland Fed President says multiple rate hikes may be needed to curb inflation, while Trump continues to pressure for rate cuts, intensifying the controversy over the Federal Reserve's independence.

According to Zhitong Finance APP, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester stated on Monday that multiple interest rate hikes may be necessary in the future to bring inflation back down to the Federal Reserve's 2% target. She believes that the current level of interest rates has not yet imposed a "meaningful constraint" on the U.S. economy, and inflation is unlikely to fall back to the target level on its own.