Fed’s Daly Breathes Sigh of Relief on April PCE Data—But Warns Inflation Battle Rages On

San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly nods at cooling inflation numbers but refuses to pop champagne. The PCE print brought relief—just don’t call it victory yet.

Markets cheer while Daly keeps her poker face. ’One month doesn’t make a trend,’ she warns—because central bankers never let you enjoy anything.

Meanwhile, Wall Street analysts already priced in seven rate cuts and a unicorn. Stay cautious—the Fed’s playing the long game.

Trump met Fed’s Powell at the White House to demand lower rates

The day before Mary gave her TV interview, President Donald TRUMP met with Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the White House. This came after weeks of Trump pressuring the Fed to cut rates, both online and behind closed doors. Trump invited Powell to discuss “economic developments including for growth, employment, and inflation,” according to Reuters.

The Fed later confirmed the meeting happened, but said Powell didn’t give any policy guidance. He only repeated that any future changes to interest rates WOULD depend entirely on economic data. The statement stressed that Powell and the rest of the central bank will continue to base decisions on “careful, objective, and non-political analysis.”

But Trump is clearly not buying that. He’s been slamming Powell for weeks on his Truth Social account, accusing the Fed of holding back growth by keeping interest rates too high. On May 17, he posted, “THE CONSENSUS OF ALMOST EVERYBODY IS THAT, ‘THE FED SHOULD CUT RATES SOONER, RATHER THAN LATER.’ Too Late Powell, a man legendary for being Too Late, will probably blow it again – But who knows???”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump didn’t hold back in private either. “The president did say that he believes the Fed chair is making a mistake by not lowering interest rates,” Karoline told reporters. “It’s putting us at an economic disadvantage to China and other countries.”

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) hasn’t cut rates since December, just before Trump returned for his second nonconsecutive term. Meanwhile, Trump is rolling out new tariffs that could increase inflation, complicating things for a Fed trying to manage prices while keeping the economy afloat.

So far, the central bank is standing firm. Mary’s comments show that officials are in no rush to change course. The April PCE report may have been good news, but the Fed is still watching the road ahead — and they’re not done steering yet.

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