Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh indicated on Friday that he would not predetermine the path for interest rates ahead of the central bank's scheduled gatherings in October and December.

Policymakers at the Federal Reserve raised their benchmark borrowing rate by a quarter of a percentage point in September, bringing it to roughly 3.9 percent — a move that marked the institution's first such adjustment in three years. With price levels across the country remaining well above target, further rate increases are anticipated over the coming months as a tool for moderating consumer demand and easing upward pressure on costs.

Warsh gave no indication of upcoming policy moves during a conversation with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva at a Bangkok gathering of financial officials. He told her that the Federal Reserve had communicated its commitment to bringing down inflation and had pulled back some monetary support roughly a month prior, while adding that he does not form conclusions about meetings before they take place.

The rate decision taken at the September gathering ran counter to the position the president had publicly advocated on multiple occasions, namely that borrowing costs should be brought down. Warsh, whom the president had nominated to the position earlier in the year, retained the administration's backing even as the rate-setting committee drew pointed objections from the White House.

Inflation across world markets has placed price stability near the top of the agenda at the gathering of central bank governors and finance officials in Bangkok. Meeting minutes from the latest gathering of Fed policymakers point to a broad expectation among officials that borrowing costs will need to climb at least once more before the calendar year closes. Lending rates tied to mortgages, vehicle financing, and credit cards would likely face upward pressure as a result.

Warsh attributed part of the upward pressure on prices to investment flows tied to artificial intelligence, and noted that a Fed working group on AI-related matters is scheduled to convene on November 16. In his view, the arrival of this technology represents the most far-reaching shift in the domestic and global economy within his lifetime.

Warsh expressed the view that, in contrast to armed conflict and other pressures pushing costs upward, artificial intelligence stands to deliver considerable gains for the global economy over time.

One speaker at the Bangkok gathering noted that Fed economists working with data that lags behind current conditions have identified AI as a potentially useful forecasting instrument, and that analysts routinely apply outdated analytical frameworks to datasets in an effort to identify the underlying forces driving inflation. The speaker added that central banks would gain ready access to vast stores of global data, alongside new analytical instruments capable of processing that information into actionable insights.