A Federal Reserve official warned that the central bank would have to move interest rates up more aggressively this year if inflation stays high through the first half of the year.
Fed governor Christopher Waller said he still thought it was reasonable to pencil in three rate increases this year, but that the rate path would ultimately depend on “what inflation looks like in the second half of the year. If it continues to be high, the case will be made for four, maybe five hikes,” he said in an interview on Bloomberg TV. “But if inflation falls back in the second half of the year, as many of us think it will…then you could actually pause and not even go the full three.”
