NEW YORK, May 30 (Xinhua) -- A senior U.S. Federal Reserve official said Thursday that risks to the U.S. economy including weaker-than-expected inflation data and signs of a global slowdown are factors that the central bank closely monitors in deciding future monetary moves.
"We're attuned to potential risks to the outlook. If we saw a downside risk to the outlook, then that would be a factor that could call for more accommodative policy," said Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida at an event held by the Economic Club of New York.
He said if the incoming data were to show a persistent shortfall in inflation below the 2 percent objective or were it to indicate that global economic and financial developments present a material downside risk to the central bank's baseline outlook, it might be the time for Fed to make monetary policy changes.
The U.S. inflation indicators were weaker than expected in the first quarter amid a sharp slowdown in domestic demand.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measurement of inflation, increased 0.3 percent in April in the United States on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said on May 10. That came after a 0.4-percent rise registered in March.
Over the past 12 months ending April, the CPI rose 2 percent before seasonal adjustment, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending November 2018, according to the report.
The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index excluding food and energy prices, or the core PCE price index, increased 1 percent, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The core PCE price index is Fed's preferred inflation measure.
Clarida said that the committee judged at its May meeting that the current stance of policy remains appropriate because central bank officials expect some of the recent inflation softness to be transitory.
The Fed's benchmark funds rate, which forms a basis for most consumer rates, is targeted between 2.25 percent and 2.5 percent.
