Thomas Barkin, Richmond Federal Reserve President, stated Friday that more rate increases would be needed to tamp down price pressures despite positive inflation data this week. In a live interview on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” Barkin said that releases this week showing consumer and wholesale price increases slowed in July were “very welcome.” “So we’re happy to see inflation start to move down,” he added. But he noted, “I’d like to see a period of sustained inflation under control, and until we do that, I think we’re just going to have to continue to move rates into restrictive territory.”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumer prices were flat in July while producer prices declined by 0.5%. Although that was only one month’s data, the CPI was still up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis, while the producer price index was up 9.8%. These numbers remain far in excess of the Fed’s long-term inflation objective of 2%, which is why Barkin said the central bank should continue to work towards reaching that goal. “You’d like to see inflation running at our target, which is 2% at the PCE, and I’d like to see it running at our target for a period of time,” he said. Typically, the Federal Reserve uses the personal consumption expenditures price index as its preferred indicator. As of June, the headline PCE rate was 6.8%, while the core PCE rate was 4.8%. Barkin’s remarks are consistent with most Fed officials who have recently spoken about interest rates.