High inflation in the world's largest economy is "concerning," Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said on Friday as he opened a key central bankers' meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

"On the price-stability side of our mandate, the numbers are more concerning," said Warsh, according to prepared remarks, adding that he would be "hard pressed" to describe current financial conditions as "restrictive," a potential hint that interest rate hikes could be on the horizon.

The US central bank has missed its long-term two-percent target for inflation for more than five years, with the latest measure of the Fed's preferred gauge coming in at 3.7 percent this week.

Central Bank predominant focus should be on prices, Warsh says

Warsh, who has been reticent to share his views on the economy since he took office, said that the central bank's "predominant focus right now should be on prices."

"We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at sufficient speed. Otherwise, we have work to do," he said.

The Fed has held rates steady through 2026, but a growing faction of policymakers have called for interest rate hikes to combat inflation fueled by US President Donald Trump's war on Iran and his tariff policies. At its last meeting in July, the Fed once again held rates, but a quarter of voting members on the rate-setting committee dissented, calling for an immediate hike.

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