Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Austin Goolsbee said Thursday he expects a series of interest rate cuts over the next year and a half, noting that inflation is now approaching the Fed's 2% target and the labor market is still performing well, and that the Fed's goal is to maintain those conditions.

Goolsbee noted that there is broad agreement among monetary policymakers that interest rates need to fall “by an appropriate amount” over the coming period.

On the other hand, Thomas Barkin, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, said a short while ago that inflation has declined, but we cannot declare victory, as he revealed his fear that low interest rates will lead to a boost in demand for housing.

Barkin explained that inflation is trending in the right direction, but noted that demand for housing may rise faster than supply.

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The comments come after the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday that the core consumer price index, a broad measure of the costs of goods and services consumers buy, slowed on an annual basis for September data compared to August data, although the data beat expectations.

On the other hand, the core inflation index, which excludes food and energy, accelerated on an annual basis, exceeding expectations and the rate recorded in August.

The core consumer price index slowed on an annual basis from September to an increase of just 2.4%, down from the previous reading of 2.5%, although it exceeded expectations of 2.3%.

On a monthly basis, the main inflation measure rose by 0.2%, the same as August's reading, but higher than experts' expectations of 0.1%.

The core consumer price index (excluding food and energy) recorded an annualized rate of 3.3% in September, higher than experts’ expectations of 3.2%, and higher than the August reading of 3.2%.

On a monthly basis, the core inflation index recorded an increase of 0.3% in September, higher than experts’ expectations of 0.2%, and the reading recorded in the August data was an increase of 0.3%.

On the other hand, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose last week to its highest level in a year, a possible sign of a weak labor market.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial applications for unemployment benefits jumped by 33,000 to 258,000 for the week of Oct. 3. That's the most since Aug. 5, 2023, and well above the 231,000 that analysts had expected.