Fed Governor Barr says DoJ probe is an assault on the independence of the Fed; Fed is acting only for economic reasons and according to its congressional mandate

• Barr said benchmark interest rates are at the right level, equally balancing risks to inflation and the job market.
• "A reasonable base case is that the labor market is continuing to stabilize, and that inflation will continue to come down to 2%,"
• Is taking a wait-and-see approach, and said he'll continue to assess the data.
• "Until the spring, we're going to have effects of the government shutdown playing into biases in the data for technical reasons... So we have to try and make adjustments for that,"
• "We need to treat the data, you know, with some caution. And that will play through really into the spring."

Fed Governor Barr's comments highlight a cautious stance regarding interest rates and inflation, suggesting stability in the labor market and a continued commitment to economic independence amidst ongoing scrutiny from the DoJ. His remarks indicate that while rates may be appropriate now, the Fed is taking a prudent, data-driven approach moving forward, especially with external factors, such as the government shutdown, influencing data interpretation.