A top official at the Federal Reserve signalled that the US central bank was preparing to hold its benchmark interest rate steady at its September policy meeting, saying recent economic data did not necessitate anything “imminent” in terms of further monetary tightening.
Christopher Waller — among the most hawkish members of the Federal Open Market Committee and who casts a vote at every policy meeting — said on Tuesday that the Fed was well-positioned to proceed “carefully” in terms of further monetary tightening following what he described as a “helluva good week of data”.
“There’s nothing that is saying we need to do anything imminent anytime soon, so we can just sit there, wait for the data and see if things continue,” he told CNBC in an interview.