Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller on Friday said he expects a significant interest rate increase later this month. He added that policymakers should stop guessing about the future and instead base their decisions on data.
“Looking ahead to our next meeting, I support another significant increase in the policy rate,” Waller said in remarks prepared for a speech in Vienna. “But, looking further out, I can’t tell you about the appropriate path of policy. The peak range and how fast we will move there will depend on data we will receive about the economy.”
Those comments echoed the recent sentiment from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Vice Chair Lael Brainard, and others, who said they are determined to curb inflation.
“Based on all of the data that we have received since the FOMC’s last meeting, I believe the policy decision at our next meeting will be straightforward,” he said. “Because of the strong labor market, right now there is no tradeoff between the Fed’s employment and inflation objectives, so we will continue to aggressively fight inflation.
