by Ann Sapphire
June 18 (Reuters) – Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller on Saturday became the latest U.S. central banker to promise a drastic approach to tackling inflation, three days after the Fed hiked interest rates three-quarters of a percentage point and hinted that further tightening would follow.
“If the data confirms what I anticipate, I will support a decision of similar size at our July meeting,” he said according to the text of a speech prepared for an economic conference in Dallas. “The Fed is fully mobilized to restore price stability.”
The US Federal Reserve (Fed) on Wednesday raised its main interest rate by three-quarters of a point in an attempt to regain control of inflation.
This rate hike, the largest decided by the central bank of the United States since 1994, comes after the publication in recent days of several indicators suggesting that the fight against inflation, which has become the priority of the Fed and the White House , has so far made only meager progress.
Consumer price inflation notably reached 8.6% over one year in May, its highest level since 1981, while the Fed’s target is 2%. (Gilles Guillaume for the French version)