James Bullard, Interview: Bloomberg TV

“I think the pace matters a little bit. You do have to get to the level of the policy rate that will put downward pressure on inflation now. And we’ve been able to get some downward pressure on inflation during the first half of this year. Most of that came through market pricing, not through the actual level, the funds rate, but now you have to follow through and get the funds rate to a level that’s defensible that you can say, Hey, I’m putting downward pressure on inflation. We’ve got an eight handle on headline, CPI inflation. This is more inflation than we’ve seen in 40 years. We’ve got to get the rate up.”

“We have to get our rate up to the level that we’ll put downward pressure on inflation. I’ve said 3.75 to 4%. By the end of this year, I’d like to get to that level. And sooner is better, as far as I’m concerned.”