July 29, 2026
Kevin Warsh
July 29, 2026 FOMC Press Conference
- The chair said the increase in market interest rates between FOMC meetings ranked around the top decile of the most significant moves in the last two decades.
- The chair said the reduction in forward guidance may have been a factor in market participants' real-time reactions to incoming data.
- The chair said the most recent data showed four-quarter growth rates of nearly 20 percent in the AI-related category of high-tech equipment and software.
- The chair said he had called for a task force to revisit both the private and public data used in the FOMC's decisionmaking, and he would check back with them in the next couple of weeks.
- The chair said the June CPI print was not much of a factor in the decision to hold rates, as the FOMC was not relying on any one individual piece of data.
From the opening statement
Press conference
CHAIRMAN WARSH. Good day. My second FOMC Committee meeting as Chairman has come quickly. It’s probably too early to call it a streak, but our discussions again were collegial and constructive. I’m truly lucky to work with colleagues so capable and mission focused, and so determined, like I am, to sharpen the performance of the Federal Reserve.
Today, as you know, our Committee decided to vote by a 9-to-3 vote to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 3½ to 3¾ percent. The Committee is continuing its policy of making ample reserves in the banking system. The economy is showing impressive resilience. Even with recent shocks, the trends are positive and reveal solid growth. Job gains have kept pace with the workforce, and the unemployment rate has changed little. Inflation remains elevated relative to the Committee’s 2 percent goal. The Committee remains resolute. You’ve heard this before, but we will deliver price stability.
As before, the policy statement conveys just the facts. It’s steering clear of forecasting, a choice we consider especially prudent at these uncertain times. Uncertainty, however, does not mean a lack of clarity. For some households, businesses, and market professionals, five years of high inflation have left a mistaken impression that’s hard to shake—that the Fed’s implicit inflation target was somehow above 2 percent. Let me reiterate: There is no soft inflation target; there is no soft implicit target—not on this Committee’s watch. There’s only a target, and it’s 2 percent. Not one of my FOMC colleagues is under any illusion. We’ve begun a new chapter, and we understand that the five-plus years of inflation above target cannot be cured in nine weeks—or by a single month of modest price decreases.