(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said the case for raising interest rates at the central bank’s meeting this week was “pretty clear,” emphasizing that inflation remains too high.

“Inflation is high. Demand hadn’t seemed to come down. And so, the case for raising was pretty clear,” he was quoted as saying in an interview with CNN.

Fed officials raised their benchmark lending rate by a quarter percentage point to a range of 4.75% to 5% following their two-day meeting in Washington, a sign policymakers remain focused on reining in price pressures following a string of unexpectedly strong economic data over the past few months.

“The labor market is tight. Historically tight,” Barkin, who doesn’t vote on interest rates this year, was quoted as saying Friday. “Inflation, unfortunately, has stayed too high.”

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.