Federal Reserve governor Adriana Kugler said the Fed should hold interest rates steady for a while to come, because new trade barriers are likely to spark more inflation in the months ahead. Speaking at a housing conference in Washington,

What is clear is that the current 4.33% median Fed funds target rate remains well above the inflation trend. Even after the acceleration in consumer prices in June, the policy rate is roughly 1.4 percentage points above headline CPI’s one-year change – close to the biggest gap post-pandemic.

Rising prices across an array of goods from coffee to audio equipment to home furnishings pulled inflation higher.

J.P. Morgan warned in a note that Trump's pressure on the Federal Reserve and threats to fire Chair Powell could undercut central bank independence and increase inflation risks.

James Fishback, founder and CEO of the investment firm Azoria, said Friday on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” that President Donald Trump has a “unique opportunity” to appoint a new chairman of the Federal Reserve sooner than “everyone expects.

With June's inflation reading coming in hotter than the month prior, the Fed is under renewed pressure to maintain its current target range for the federal funds rate. Analysts now see little chance of a rate cut in the near term. That means HELOC borrowers are unlikely to see significant rate drops anytime soon.

The report on wholesale inflation came a day after the Labor Department reported that consumer prices last month rose 2.7% from June 2024, the biggest year-over-year gain since February, as Trump’s sweeping tariffs pushed up the cost of everything from groceries to appliances.