On Wednesday, September 16, 2026 FOMC Chair Kevin Warsh gave the scheduled September 2026 FOMC Press Conference. (link of video and related materials)
Below are Kevin Warsh’s comments I found most notable – although I don’t necessarily agree with them – in the order they appear in the transcript. These comments are excerpted from the “Transcript of Chair Warsh’s Press Conference“ (preliminary)(pdf) of September 16, 2026, with the accompanying “FOMC Statement” and “Summary of Economic Projections” (pdf) dated September 16, 2026.
Excerpts from Chair Warsh’s opening comments:
CHAIRMAN WARSH. Good day. In the meeting just concluded, the FOMC decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate by ¼ percentage point to 3¾ to 4 percent, in support of the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate. The Committee is continuing its policy of maintaining ample reserves in the banking system.
As noted in the Policy Statement, released just a short while ago, economic activity is expanding at a solid pace. While uncertainty remains elevated—owing, in part, to geopolitical developments—domestic spending has been resilient. Productivity growth is strong, and capital investment is robust. Job gains have kept pace with the workforce, and the unemployment rate has changed little.
But inflation remains elevated. Today’s policy action will support a timelier return to the Committee’s 2 percent goal. This Committee will deliver price stability.
also:
Yet for more than five years, inflation has been running above target. So, our predominant focus is on the price-stability side of our mandate. The plain fact is that inflation is too high and has been for too long.
This summer’s inflation readings do not tell me that underlying trends have meaningfully improved. Based on the most recent CPI and PPI data, the 12-month change in total PCE prices likely was around 3.6 percent in August. Core PCE and CPI prices are running at about 3.2 percent and 2.4 percent respectively. Too many categories are still posting increases above 3 percent, on both a 6- and 12-month basis.
Excerpts of Kevin Warsh’s responses as indicated to various questions:
RICHARD ESCOBEDO. Thank you. Chair Warsh, thank you for doing this. I’m Richard Escobedo with CBS. Let me navigate over to my questions. You know, a quarter point rate hike does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. And so, I wonder how you think these smaller rate hikes will be effective when it can’t necessarily address the energy-supply side of inflationary pressures.
CHAIRMAN WARSH. It’s a — it’s a — it’s a good question, Richard. We cannot affect any individual price, whether it be oil prices, whether it be food stuffs at the grocery store. But what we can do, and will do, is ensure that any change in relative prices don’t broaden out. Don’t have second and third order effects in the economy. That’s what we’re tasked to do, and that’s what we will do.
also:
NEIL IRWIN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Neil Irwin with Axios. Longer-term bond yields are up quite a bit over the last few months, especially the last few weeks. What do you believe the bond market is telling you, especially about the growth outlook, the neutral rate, and what are the implications for monetary policy?
CHAIRMAN WARSH. Yeah. Let me speak to the history. What bond market prices do prospectively, I want to let them do — I want to let them tell me any story they wish to. I want to try to interrogate that. But why did yields rise, let’s say since the last FOMC meeting until this? I’ll give you three — three reasons, but I would say these things tend to be overdetermined. This is a complicated set of things that are affecting the most important asset anywhere in the world, the 10-year Treasury. It’s the risk-free asset upon which every price of virtually every asset in the world is related to. So I’ll say three things, first is economic strength. Part of the reason why we’ve seen over the course of 2026, long-term yields go up is the economy is strengthened. Second reason, competition for capital. The surge in capital expenditures, which I referenced in my remarks, is real, and the so-called hyperscalers are out in the market raising funding, and so the competition for capital is real and I think it partly explains the increase in yields. The third, is geopolitics. The situation hot spots around the world are driving long-term yields. It’s not simply spot prices of energy, or spot process for corn or soybeans or wheat, but it’s the difference between those spot prices and so-called crack spreads. What that means for products that find their way into stores across the country. I think those are the three leading explanations, but certainly not an exclusive list.
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The Special Note summarizes my overall thoughts about our economic situation
SPX at 7640.21 as this post is written
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