Top Fed official sees need for more interest rate increases
A senior Federal Reserve official said Friday that there has been little progress on inflation for more than a year and that more interest rate hikes are needed to get prices under control
WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior Federal Reserve official said Friday that there has been little progress on inflation for more than a year and that more interest rate hikes are needed to get prices under control.
Christopher Waller, a member of the Fed's governing board, did not specify how many more increases he supports, but said that inflation “is still much too high and so my job is not done.”
Last month, inflation slowed as food and gas prices fell, but excluding those volatile categories, “core” prices kept rising and are 5.6% higher than a year ago. Waller pointed out that core prices have risen at about that same pace, or higher, since December 2021.
Waller's comments expressing support for more rate hikes follow a forecast by the Fed's staff economists, revealed in Fed minutes Wednesday, for a “mild recession" later this year.
