By Kim Mackrael 

OTTAWA -- Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said he doesn't know whether a rate cut would be needed this year, as officials grapple with mixed economic data and uncertainty over U.S. trade policies.

Mr. Barkin made the comments during a press conference Tuesday in Ottawa, Canada's capital city. He said some recent data points, including a slowdown in May hiring, have clouded an otherwise strong economic picture. There are also signs the business environment has become less attractive for investment, he added.

"As you look at the investment numbers and the numbers that are underlying the investment numbers, they do look weaker," said Mr. Barkin, who isn't currently a voting member of the interest-rate setting Federal Open Market Committee. "My plan is to watch the data, and we'll decide."

Mr. Barkin's comments came one week after the Fed held interest rates steady in a range between 2.25% and 2.5% and suggested cuts are possible if the economic outlook doesn't improve. Earlier Tuesday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said officials are debating whether uncertainty over U.S. trade policy would cause the economy to slow and warrant rate cuts later this year.

Mr. Barkin said he continues to see monetary policy as modestly accommodative, and that he hasn't seen a meaningful contraction in sectors of the economy that tend to be closely linked to interest rates, such as home-lending rates and consumer-lending rates.

He said it can take time for changes in monetary policy to flow through the economy, including the central bank's pivot away from rate increases in January. The Fed is also aware of the limits on its ability to influence the economy with rate changes, Mr. Barkin added.

"I think you just have to be very humble, as a central banker, around how much any particular increase or decrease is actually going to move activity, inflation and the like," he said.

Write to Kim Mackrael at kim.mackrael@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 25, 2019 19:15 ET (23:15 GMT)