Fed official supports another big rate hike

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller on Saturday threw his support behind another large interest rate increase next month.

The Fed on Wednesday announced the biggest hike in nearly 30 years, raising the benchmark borrowing rate by 0.75 percentage point in the ongoing effort to rein in scorching inflation.

"If the data comes in as I expect, I will support a similar-sized move at our July meeting," Waller said in a speech prepared for delivery to a conference in Dallas.

"The Fed is 'all in' on re-establishing price stability." In recent weeks, the central bank had telegraphed plans for a half-point increase, but a surprise resurgence in consumer prices, which have risen at the fastest pace in four decades, changed its thinking.

The super-sized rate increase came as the Fed faces intense pressure to curb soaring gas, food and housing prices, spurred by the fallout from the war in Ukraine as well as Covid-lockdowns that have disrupted global supply chains.