Goolsbee seeks more evidence of inflation cooling.

Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Goolsbee expressed that he is encouraged by the recent improvement in U.S. inflation, but cautioned that several months of similar data are needed to be certain that inflation is consistently moving back toward the Federal Reserves 2% target. He stated that inflation is his primary concern while noting that the U.S. economy is generally stable in terms of growth and the labor market. Goolsbee supported keeping interest rates unchanged during the July policy meeting, and he remains cautious given that inflation has been above target levels for an extended period. Recent inflation data has weakened, July retail sales were sluggish, and employment growth has been relatively flat, leading investors to lower their expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. The market currently estimates a 30% chance of a rate hike in September, significantly lower than expectations a month ago. Goolsbee also warned that productivity gains from technologies such as artificial intelligence do not inherently support lower interest rates, as large-scale investment expenditures could ultimately result in economic overheating.