Fed officials consider raising rates to combat inflation.

Two Federal Reserve officials, Fed Governor Christopher Waller and Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin, have signaled that additional interest rate hikes may be necessary this year to combat inflationary pressure in the US economy. Despite the Fed's recent decision to pause its aggressive interest rate hike campaign, both officials expressed comfort with further rate increases due to inflation still running abnormally high. The Labor Department reported that the consumer price index rose 4% in May from the previous year, the smallest increase in more than two years, but it remains about twice the Fed's target 2% rate.