Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee stated that the Federal Reserve still has room to cut interest rates further, provided that inflation gets back on a clear path toward the 2% target. However, based on current conditions, this prerequisite has not yet been met. In an interview on Friday, Goolsbee noted, "I believe there is scope for lowering rates, potentially even more than once, but the precondition is that inflation must be clearly returning to the path toward 2%. The issue right now is that we are not on that path; inflation seems stuck around 3%, which is an unacceptable level." He reiterated his concerns regarding service price inflation. Data released earlier that day showed service prices accelerated again in January, representing a significant source of persistent inflation. Although overall prices increased 2.4% year-over-year, a figure lower than market expectations, underlying structural pressures have not noticeably eased. At the policy level, the Fed decided to hold interest rates steady at its meeting last month. Previously, the Fed implemented three consecutive rate cuts by the end of 2025 in response to signs of weakness in the labor market at that time. Goolsbee, along with some colleagues, has recently indicated that the current U.S. job market is showing signs of greater stability. This suggests that more substantial progress on inflation is needed before supporting further rate cuts. A report released earlier this week also showed U.S. hiring activity remained steady in January, further reinforcing policymakers' assessment that risks from the employment side have eased for now. Against this backdrop, a consensus within the Fed regarding the future policy path is gradually shifting. The decision on whether to cut rates again will ultimately depend on whether inflation can genuinely converge toward the 2% target.