A top policymaker at the US Federal Reserve says that he still supports reducing interest rates this year, despite elevated inflation and the prospect of widespread tariffs
ByCHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP economics writer
WASHINGTON — A top policymaker at the U.S. Federal Reserve said Wednesday that he still supports cutting interest rates this year, despite elevated inflation and the prospect of widespread tariffs under the incoming Trump administration.
Christopher Waller, an influential member of the Fed’s board of governors, said he expects inflation will move closer to the Fed’s 2% target in the coming months. And in some of the first comments by a Fed official specifically about tariffs, he said that greater import duties likely won’t push up inflation this year.
“My bottom-line message is that I believe more cuts will be appropriate,” Waller said in Paris at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
“If, as I expect, tariffs do not have a significant or persistent effect on inflation, they are unlikely to affect my view,” Waller added.
His remarks are noteworthy because the impact of tar