Richard Clarida, vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, said he was surprised by the increase in the consumer price index announced earlier on Wednesday and that "we will not hesitate to take action if necessary" to bring inflation down to the target level.
He said that as the US economy recovers from the COVID-19 epidemic, there will be some imbalances that will put upward pressure on prices.
He answered questions after giving a speech at the NABE conference.
"there is pent-up demand in the economy," Clarida said. "it may take some time for supply to rise to meet demand."
He also called the disappointing April jobs report an accident and may reflect labor market frictions during the economic recovery.