Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said he would not rule out supporting a half-percentage-point interest-rate hike at the Fed’s March meeting, rather than the quarter point that other officials have signaled may be appropriate.
(Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said he would not rule out supporting a half-percentage-point interest-rate hike at the Fed’s March meeting, rather than the quarter point that other officials have signaled may be appropriate.
“My overall judgment is it will be a long battle against inflation, and we’ll probably have to continue to show inflation-fighting resolve as we go through 2023,” Bullard told reporters Thursday following a presentation to the Greater Jackson Chamber in Jackson, Tennessee. He said he wanted to bring the Fed’s policy rate up to 5.375% as soon as possible.
Bullard also said he advocated for a 50 basis-point increase at the Fed’s meeting earlier this month, echoing remarks from Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester earlier in the day, who said she saw a compelling economic case for a bigger rate increase.
“I have argued consistently for front-loading of monetary policy,” Bullard said. “I think we could have continued that at this past meeting.”
Fed officials voted unanimously to lift the benchmark lending rate at the start of February by a quarter of a percentage point, raising it to a range of 4.5% to 4.75%. That followed a half percentage-point increase at their December meeting, which came after four consecutive jumbo-sized 75 basis-point hikes.
Bullard and Mester have been among the most hawkish policymakers over the past year, favoring more aggressive action to tame price pressures. While both officials participate in deliberations, they do not vote on monetary policy decisions this year.
Traders have boosted their bets for further Fed action, following reports this week that point to persistent price pressures and underlying strength in the economy. They now see a greater chance that policymakers will return to outsize interest-rate increases at their upcoming March meeting.
Bullard said he welcomed that development, but said he would reserve judgment about what Fed officials should do in March.
Future Meetings
“I wouldn’t rule anything out for that meeting, or any meeting in the future,” he said.
Mester said earlier Thursday that incoming data has not changed her view that the Fed will need to bring the fed funds rate above 5% and hold it there for some time.
“Setting aside what financial market participants expected us to do, I saw a compelling economic case for a 50 basis-point increase, which would have brought the top of the target range to 5%,” she said at an event organized by the Global Interdependence Center and the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee.
Mester also said the central bank has to be prepared to move rates higher if inflation remains stubbornly elevated.
(Updates with additional comments from Bullard.)
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