St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said on Friday that he judges it necessary to tighten monetary policy further "soon." He noted that despite the Federal Reserve's decision this week to keep interest rates unchanged, the annual inflation rate remains above 3%, and financial conditions "remain accommodative." He believes that inflation is likely to stay above 2% unless the Fed raises rates further. Musalem argued that smaller, earlier adjustments are preferable to larger, more abrupt actions later on. He also positively assessed the U.S. economy as "resilient," with third-quarter GDP growth exceeding expectations at 3.4%, and the labor market being "very stable and balanced." Musalem is not a voting member of the FOMC this year.