Federal Reserve Bank of Boston president Susan Collins said on 13 October that she expected it would be appropriate to raise interest rates a little further before the end of 2026. She said further tightening would support a timely and durable return of inflation to 2%. Collins left the timing dependent on incoming data and did not commit to action at the Federal Open Market Committee's 27-28 October meeting.
Collins supported the committee's September increase of 25 basis points, which placed the federal funds target range at 3.75% to 4.00%. Her Boston Fed speech cited economic resilience, stable labour-market conditions and persistent inflation risks. Her remarks represented an individual policy assessment, not an announced committee decision.
INFLATION RISKS SUPPORT CAUTION
Collins linked the case for modest further tightening to the goal of returning inflation sustainably to the Federal Reserve's 2% target. At the same time, she described an economy with continued resilience and stable labour-market conditions.
Reuters and Bloomberg Law independently reported the year-end guidance. Their accounts were consistent with the Boston Fed's published speech and preserved Collins's qualification that timing would depend on the data.
TIMING REMAINS DATA-DEPENDENT
The year-end horizon signals Collins's present expectation rather than a promise of an immediate increase. It also leaves room for the policy path to change if inflation, employment or wider activity develops differently.
The next scheduled policy milestone is the Federal Open Market Committee's 27-28 October meeting. Incoming inflation and labour-market evidence, together with the committee's statement, will show whether Collins's preferred further increase gains broader support.