Top Federal Reserve Official Advocates For Lowering Interest Rates ‘Carefully’

A top Federal Reserve official thinks the U.S. central bank should “methodically and carefully” lower interest rates when the time is right to loosen monetary policy conditions. In a prepared virtual speech at the Brookings Institution on Jan. 16, the Fed governor Christopher Waller asserted that the benchmark Fed funds rate will likely come down this year “as long as inflation doesn’t rebound and stay elevated.” Should data remain “as good as it gets,” referencing solid economic growth and jobs numbers, policymakers should take their time relaxing monetary policy. “When the time is right to begin lowering rates, I believe it can and should be lowered methodically and carefully,” Mr. Wall told host David Wessel....