00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Edward Lawrence from Fox Business. How concerned are you with the data that we're showing coming in, showing no significant upward trend in inflation over the past six months, that the wait-and-see approach for inflation is actually giving companies cover to raise prices?
00:17How concerned am I that the say that again?
00:19The wait-and-see approach is giving –
00:22The wait-and-see approach, what do you mean by that?
00:23For cutting rates. You're waiting to see if the tariffs will affect inflation. So it's a wait-and-see approach.
00:30Well, so that – you know, that would – that's where policy is restrictive. When we start cutting, it will go toward neutral.
00:35Okay. This delay, though, where you're saying is a one-time price increase for tariffs, which possibly could lead into bigger inflation or more inflation. Is that giving companies cover, though, to raise prices?
00:48Well, what may be giving – it's not our policy stance – what may be giving – some companies will certainly be taking advantage of the fact of the tariffs and all the discussion of how they're going to –
00:59You know, companies will raise prices when and as they can. And so you saw it famously in the first administration of President Trump during those tariffs.
01:11Washing machines were tariffed, but dryers weren't. But what do you know? The price of dryers went up, too, just like washing machines.
01:18So companies will often just take – they'll cross the street in a group, if you know what I mean. That'll happen. We don't see a lot of that. I mean, what we see now is basically the very beginnings of whatever the effects turn out to be on goods inflation.
01:33And, you know, I'll say again, they may be less than people estimate or more than people estimate. They're not going to be zero. Consumers will pay some of this. Businesses will pay some of this. Retailers will pay some of this.
01:48But, you know, we're just going to have to see it through.
