Fed officials beat policy patience drum as tariff questions persist

US Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday argued again for caution on monetary policy as President Donald J. Trump’s trade war continues to inject substantial amounts of uncertainty and the risk of economic weakness into the outlook.

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"I continue to believe the best approach for monetary policy is patience," Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said in an essay released by his regional Fed bank. In a “broadly healthy” economy “we have space to wait and see how the heightened uncertainty affects employment and prices ... I am in no hurry to adjust our policy stance,” he said.

Speaking separately at an event in New York, Fed Governor Lisa Cook said US monetary policy is in a good place to respond to different economic scenarios.

The US economy is in a “solid position” amid heightened uncertainty, Ms. Cook told a gathering at the Council on Foreign Relations.

"There is evidence that changes to trade policy are starting to affect the economy” and “I anticipate a slowdown in the expansion of economic activity from last year’s pace,” Ms. Cook said. She tied trade policy to drops in manufacturing output and some types of orders for big-ticket factory goods, as well as a pullback in investment as firms navigate the uncertainty.