Fed governor Christopher Waller's remarks have strengthened expectations of another December rate hike, despite Donald Trump's repeated calls for lower borrowing costs. (EPA Images pic)NEW YORK: A top Federal Reserve official said Tuesday that the US central bank must act swiftly and forcefully to address inflation, signalling plans to back an interest rate hike in December.
"Inflation remains too high," Fed governor Christopher Waller said during an address in London. "Monetary policy will be needed, sooner rather than later, to return inflation to a path that will reach 2% in the medium term."
The speech came a few hours ahead of the release later Tuesday of key US consumer price inflation (CPI) data for October. Waller, in the speech, said he would consider a double-sized 0.5 percentage point increase in interest rates if the October CPI report shows another significant uptick in pricing pressures.
