Reuters -- St. Louis Federal Reserve BankFederal Reserve Bank has few problems raising prices on customers for the first time in years, President James Bullard said on Monday as he warned inflation could remain elevated for some time to come amid fears higher expectations become entrenched
Bullard's business contacts in his Fed district and around the country usually say 'don't worry my company's going to be profitable because I am going to raise prices and we've had no difficulty raising prices in this environment, Bullard said during an event held by the International Economic Forum of Americas.
Bullard is among the strongest advocates at the U.S. central bank for aggressive moves to combat higher-than-expected inflation and he sees two interest rate hikes needed in 2022. Interest rates remain near zero currently, where they have been since the onset of COVID - 19 pandemic in early 2020.
I am concerned about the changing mentality around prices in the economy and the relative freedom that businesses feel like they can just pass on increased costs easily to their customers. For years, that has not been the case, Bullard added.