Walsh adheres to prudent market guidance, and will consider a September interest rate hike if inflation remains strong.

According to a report by the Financial Times, even after his decision to withhold too many details about interest rate strategy triggered a sharp sell-off in U.S. Treasuries, Federal Reserve Chair Walsh has stuck to his usual concise communication style. People close to Walsh say he has acknowledged making some mistakes in his first 10 weeks leading the world’s most important central bank, including failing to reinforce his core message on price stability and sowing confusion over whether his long-term plans to overhaul the Fed would impact near-term policy decisions. However, they insist these mistakes are not enough to derail Walsh’s reform agenda for the Federal Reserve. Insiders also revealed that if inflation data released in the coming weeks comes in strong and market expectations for higher borrowing costs rise accordingly, Walsh is prepared to raise interest rates at the September policy meeting. Insiders added that while the Fed chair has raised the possibility of shrinking the central bank’s $6.7 trillion balance sheet to tighten monetary policy, interest rates remain the primary tool for now, and will be used at upcoming meetings if needed.