Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Jeffrey Schmid has said that already-hot levels of inflation make it harder to assume the current energy shock will have only a temporary impact on pricing and can be ignored by the central bank.

“My primary concern is inflation, which is too hot and has been above target for too long,” Schmid said in the text of a speech to be delivered before a conference in Iceland.

“I place little stock in assuming that the most recent runup in prices is transitory within an acceptable time horizon, and as such, my focus remains on inflation in setting the correct course for policy.”

He added: “Now is not the time to let down our guard, given how long inflation has been above the central banks 2pc target.”