Waller Flags 5-6 Months of Inflation Gains as Stronger Signal Than One Soft Reading
Updated
Updated · IndexBox, Inc. · Jul 14
Waller Flags 5-6 Months of Inflation Gains as Stronger Signal Than One Soft Reading
3 articles · Updated · IndexBox, Inc. · Jul 14
Summary
Five to six straight months of firmer inflation would make another higher reading a meaningful signal for Fed Governor Christopher Waller, while one lower print would need several repeats before he treats it as a trend.
Waller said stronger job reports and a stable unemployment rate have eased his labor-market concerns, and he dismissed bigger BLS payroll revisions as a normal result of later survey responses.
On policy communication, Waller said now is not the time for forward guidance and that markets should get as much information as possible rather than be surprised.
He also said AI could be influencing financial conditions and warned a pullback could tighten them sharply, while seeing no reason for the Fed to operate with scarce reserves even as a task force studies balance-sheet reduction.