Fed's Goolsbee repeats rates to be 'fair bit' lower in 12-18 months

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Austan Goolsbee said Friday that he feels the U.S. central bank's policy rate will be a "fair bit" lower in 12-18 months, though how fast the Fed does cut rates will depend on how quickly inflation falls from here and on what is currently a lot of uncertainty over the impact of tariff policy under the Trump administration.

"I think we're on path back to 2% on the inflation side," Goolsbee told Yahoo! Finance, adding that he feels the 4% unemployment rate in January shows the economy is "settling in" to full employment. "And as that inflation comes down, we can commensurately be cutting the interest rate."