PANews reported on March 4 that according to Jinshi, St. Louis Fed President Musallem said that the U.S. economy is expected to continue to expand this year, but recent weaker-than-expected consumption and housing data and reports from business contacts have raised concerns that economic growth may be at risk. He said: "The prospects for continued solid economic growth are good, the labor market is healthy, and financial conditions are also supportive. But recent data are weaker than expected, and there are some signs that business activity has slowed, at least indicating that some companies are more cautious." He said that at present he believes that the current monetary policy is "moderately restrictive", which is an appropriate setting considering that the inflation rate is still above the Fed's 2% target. "More monetary policy work is needed to achieve price stability." He agreed with the Fed's current "patient" attitude towards further adjusting interest rates.