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Magazine + Sections + Fashion + Art & Design + Travel + Food + Culture Search [ ][Search] Share * Facebook * Twitter * LinkedIn * Copy Link * Economy Fed's Clarida 'Surprised' by Inflation Report, But Stresses Need to See More Data Central bank's vice chairman says Fed will monitor long-term inflation measures 'very closely' and act if they start to drift upward At The Wall Street Journal's CEO Council Summit, Janet Yellen expressed her confidence that the U.S. economy and employment will return to normal by next year. By Paul Kiernan Close Paul Kiernan * Biography * @pkwsj * paul.kiernan@wsj.com Updated May 12, 2021 12:11 pm ET WASHINGTON--A top Federal Reserve official said on Wednesday he was surprised by a larger-than-expected jump in inflation last month, but stressed that more data would be necessary for the central bank to begin scaling back its easy-money policies. "I was surprised," Richard Clarida, the Fed's vice chairman, said of the 4.2% increase in consumer prices in April from a year earlier. "This number was well above what I and outside forecasters expected." Mr. Clarida said he believes most of the recent acceleration in prices will prove transitory as the economy works through supply and demand mismatches that emerged during the pandemic. But he added that policy makers will be monitoring measures of long-term inflation expectations "very closely" and will act if they start to drift upward. "If, contrary to our baseline view, demand relative to supply was excessive and persistent and pushed up inflation and inflation expectations to levels that were not potentially consistent with our mandate," Mr. Clarida said, "we would not hesitate to act and to use our tools to bring inflation back down to our 2% longer-run goal." 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