# Fed’s Hammack Favors Smaller, More Frequent Rate Increases

The Cleveland Fed president said policy must become restrictive to return inflation to 2%, while stressing that her view is not a committee decision.

By Will Langan | 24X7 News
Published: 2026-11-05T17:06:00.039Z
Updated: 2026-11-05T17:10:08.944Z
Section: Money
Format: News
Canonical: https://24x7news.us/articles/fed-hammack-gradual-rate-increases-november-5-2026

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack said Thursday that U.S. monetary policy will need to become more restrictive to return inflation to the central bank’s 2% target, and she favors getting there through smaller, more frequent interest-rate increases when possible.

In prepared remarks for a conference in Zurich, Switzerland, Hammack said headline personal-consumption-expenditures inflation was 3.6% in September and core inflation was 3.1%. Both measures were above the Fed’s target and higher than at the beginning of 2026, she said.

Hammack argued that gradual steps would be less disruptive to households, businesses and financial markets than larger moves. She also said smaller, more frequent increases could reduce the risk that policy falls behind inflation or that persistently higher prices become embedded in public expectations.

The comments do not represent a new decision by the Federal Open Market Committee. The Fed left its benchmark rate in a 3.75% to 4% range last week. Reuters reported that Hammack and Fed Governor Lisa Cook dissented in favor of an increase, while financial markets broadly expect another rate rise in December.

Much of Hammack’s speech addressed the dollar’s international role. She said the currency remains the world’s leading reserve currency because the United States combines deep financial markets with strong institutions, an independent central bank and a legal system investors trust.

She said preserving Fed independence is important both for price stability and confidence in the dollar. Hammack also expressed skepticism that volatile cryptocurrencies could replace the dollar as a broad store of value, though she said stablecoins warrant closer attention.

Hammack’s preference is one policymaker’s view, not a commitment by the Fed. Future rate decisions will be made by the full committee and will depend on inflation, employment and other incoming economic data.

Sources:
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland — Reserve Currencies and Stablecoins: https://www.clevelandfed.org/collections/speeches/2026/sp-20261105-reserve-currencies-and-stablecoins
Reuters — Hammack favors gradual rate-hike path: https://www.reuters.com/business/feds-hammack-favors-gradual-rate-hike-path-lower-inflation-2026-11-05/

## Sources
- Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland — Reserve Currencies and Stablecoins: https://www.clevelandfed.org/collections/speeches/2026/sp-20261105-reserve-currencies-and-stablecoins
- Reuters — Hammack favors gradual rate-hike path: https://www.reuters.com/business/feds-hammack-favors-gradual-rate-hike-path-lower-inflation-2026-11-05/