Fed governor supports 25 basis points hike, slower rate increases

ISTANBUL

US Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Friday he supports a 25 basis points of interest rate increase at the central bank’s next meeting, and added that time has come to slow rate hikes.

“I currently favor a 25-basis point increase at the FOMC’s next meeting at the end of this month. Beyond that, we still have a considerable way to go toward our 2 percent inflation goal, and I expect to support continued tightening of monetary policy,” he said during his speech at Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Waller likened the Fed’s interest rate increases to “an airplane that soared higher quickly” as the bank made a total of 425 points rate hikes on seven occasions last year, but said “after climbing steeply and using monetary policy to significantly raise interest rates throughout the economy, it was apparent to me that it was time to slow, but not halt, the rate of ascent.”

The governor said Fed has so far managed a soft landing — the process where a central bank increases interest rates to lower inflation and causes an economic slowdown but avoids a recession.

“Six months ago, when inflation was escalating and economic output had flattened, I argued that a soft landing was still possible—that it was quite plausible to make progress on inflation without seriously damaging the labor market. So far, we have managed to do so, and I remain optimistic that this progress can continue,” he told.

• Rate Hikes
• Soft landing
• US Federal Reserve
• US Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller