[Federal Reserve Governor Barr: If inflation does not ease, the Federal Reserve should be prepared to raise interest rates] On September 1, Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr said that if inflation fails to come down, the Federal Reserve should be prepared to raise interest rates. He warned that with inflation above target for more than five consecutive years, there is a risk that price pressures will solidify. Barr said that if the data released in the future can release a signal of cooling inflation, the Fed has the conditions to remain patient. "If the trends in the data give me some confidence that inflation is moving back toward the 2 percent target, then I think we can spend more time evaluating the current policy stance," Barr said in remarks at an event in Washington on Tuesday. "But if inflation does not appear to be slowing sufficiently, I think we should act decisively to raise interest rates." Recently, inflationary pressure has continued due to the impact of the Iran war pushing up oil prices, a new round of tariffs, and a surge in demand brought about by the construction of artificial intelligence data centers, and Federal Reserve officials are discussing how to respond. Although many officials still expect inflation to fall without raising interest rates, the July policy meeting has revealed differences of opinion.