MW Fed's Waller says he doesn't support rate hikes, sees inflation cooling in second half of the year
The Federal Reserve doesn't need to raise interest rates because inflation is likely to cool in the second half of the year, said Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller.
Waller said that inflation was high but didn't get worse last year after the Trump White House enacted tariffs. That tells him that underlying inflation likely improved as tariffs pushed prices higher.
"I think once we get past tariffs and maybe the second quarter, you're going to see inflation come back down. I don't think there's a need for rate hikes," Waller said in an interview on CNBC.
At the Fed meeting this week, Waller supported no change in interest rates. He said after the weak February jobs report he was going to advocate for a cut but then he decided to be cautious given the outlook for the war with Iran was looking like it would be more protracted.
If the economy can weather the storm from the war, Waller said, he would return to advocating for rate cuts later this year.
-Greg Robb
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March 20, 2026 09:09 ET (13:09 GMT)
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