The Fed lowered rates by a percentage point in the closing months of 2024 before leaving them unchanged at their January policy meeting. That decision looked sound when new data showed the consumer price index rose 0.5% in January, the most since August 2023.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said recent economic data support keeping interest rates on hold, but if inflation behaves as it did in 2024, policymakers can get back to cutting “at some point this year.”
“If this wintertime lull in progress is temporary, as it was last year, then further policy easing will be appropriate,” Waller said in remarks he’s scheduled to deliver on Tuesday in Sydney. “But until that is clear, I favour holding the policy rate steady.”
