Fed’s Goolsbee says tariffs have not had expected impact so far

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said on Monday that thus far the surge in tariffs has had a more modest impact on the economy relative to what was expected.

“Somewhat surprisingly, thus far, the impact of tariffs has not been what people feared,” Goolsbee said in public comments before the Milwaukee Business Journal mid-year outlook.

While it is still uncertain what tariffs will do to price pressures, “if we do not see inflation resulting from these tariff increases, then, in my mind, we never left what I was calling the golden path before April 2,” which could well open the door to a push toward rate cuts, Goolsbee said.

(Reporting by Michael S. Derby; Editing by Chris Reese)