Three Federal Reserve officials who cast dissenting votes against the decision to freeze the benchmark interest rate at the recent U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting publicly called for rate hikes on the 31st (local time).

Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan each issued statements on the same day, arguing that interest rate hikes are necessary as inflation has exceeded the Fed's 2% target for more than five years.

They also emphasized swift action, noting that the longer inflation persists, the harder it becomes to reverse.

These three officials expressed their dissent against the decision to freeze the benchmark interest rate at 3.50% to 3.75% during the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting held from the 28th to the 29th.

In her statement, President Hammack pointed out that the current monetary policy is not sufficiently restrictive to cool down rising prices.

She said, "The longer high inflation persists, the greater the cost and difficulty of bringing it back down. Now is the time for the FOMC to take action to swiftly return the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation rate to the 2% target."

President Kashkari similarly demanded, "To prevent the risk of inflation becoming entrenched, it is better to implement a series of modest rate hikes rather than wait and see."

President Logan also emphasized, "Responding moderately now can reduce the likelihood of having to implement drastic and shocking policies later. Responding late could force American households and businesses to pay a higher cost."

Separately, Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin, in an interview with the U.S. daily The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), described it as "a close call" when asked whether the current interest rate level is sufficient to curb inflation.

President Barkin, who does not have voting rights on this year's FOMC, said he was unsure whether he would have voted against the rate freeze if he had a vote, but added, "I believe there is a strong case for reversing some of the rate cuts made last year."