Fed's Logan calls for caution on rate cuts, even if inflation cools

PALM DESERT, California (Reuters) - Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Lorie Logan on Friday reiterated her view that even if inflation nears the Fed's 2% goal in coming months, the U.S. central bank should not necessarily reduce short-term borrowing costs in response.??? ? "I think there's a real question about how restrictive monetary policy is right now," Logan said at a banking conference hosted by Southern Methodist University in Palm Desert, California. "And so I think we need to be cautious."

And, Logan signaled, it remained far from clear if inflation will indeed cool in the near term, noting a pattern in recent years of higher inflation at the start of the year, when companies typically tend to implement price increases.

In January, U.S. consumer inflation rose at the fastest pace in nearly a year and a half, data released this week showed.

In another potential sign of upward inflationary pressures, Logan pointed to bank surveys that reveal a lot of optimism over economic growth and loan demand.

And, she said, the central bank will be watching geopolitics and the still-unclear policies of President Donald Trump's administration.

Meanwhile, the labor market has been strong, with the unemployment rate in January ticking down to 4.1%.

"I think we're in a good position right now to watch the data over the coming months... and taking our time to really go look at the data and see how these potential changes are to evolve," she said.

Logan said she has her eye on the recent rise in long-term borrowing costs, which she attributed to expectations for stronger growth ahead and possibly also to worries about inflation.

For now, she said, she does not see financial conditions broadly as being so tight as to require the Fed to respond by cutting rates.

"That's not where we are right now," Logan said. "What I'm most focused on is making sure that...inflation is at our 2% target."

(Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Leslie Adler and David Gregorio)