Federal Reserve President Christopher Waller pointed to data showing inflation is not “accelerating” and said further interest rate hikes were “probably unnecessary.”
“Central banks never say ‘never’, but the data suggests that inflation is not accelerating and I think further hikes in policy rates are probably unnecessary,” Waller said. Ta. Said Tuesday at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
But he added that inflation would need to show positive numbers for “a few more months” before it could start cutting rates.
“Unless there is a significant deterioration in the labor market, we need to see several more months of positive inflation data before we feel comfortable supporting an easing monetary policy stance,” Waller said.
The policymaker said there was “moderate” progress on the inflation front, characterized by moderate levels in recent consumer price index reports.
“That said, progress has been very modest and my view remains that we need to see further evidence of easing inflation before supporting monetary policy easing.” said. “If I were still a professor and had to give this inflation report a grade, it would be a C+. Far from failing, but not outstanding either.”
A mid-May report showed inflation fell to 3.4% in April.
Waller did not say what improvements he would welcome in future inflation reports.
“Let’s keep this to ourselves for now, but let’s just say we’re looking forward to the day when we won’t have to skip two or three decimal places in monthly inflation data to find the good news.” said.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
