US Fed Reserve official says monthly hikes may no longer be needed
2 Min Read
A federal reserve official says the lowered inflation in the country could mean monthly interest hikes could be a thing of the past.
-
The New York Stock Exchange on Monday January 24, 2022. (AP)
According to Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly, the US central bank may no longer need to hike interest rates on a monthly basis because inflation in the US looks to be moderating.
During a public event, Daly stated that "we don't keep raising interest rates until we get to 2%," alluding to the Fed's long-term inflation objective of 2% vs the current rate of 5%.
Daly's comments came after the latest data showed that consumer prices in the United States cooled for the year to March, rising about 1% less than in February, even as core prices excluding food and energy remained stubbornly higher, indicating mixed results for the central bank's fight against inflation.
Read next: US set for recession next year, economists predict
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased at a 5% annual pace last month, compared to a 5.1% estimate and a 6% increase in February. March CPI was up 0.1% in March, compared to a 0.2% expectation and 0.4% in February.
Nevertheless, core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, increased by 5.6% year on year, compared to 5.5% in February. Core CPI increased by 0.4% in March, as expected, compared to 0.5% in February.
"Traders and analysts continue to look for lower shelter costs to start to kick in," economist Greg Michalowski wrote in a post on the ForexLive website, alluding to one of the concerns about increasing inflation.
Rates have risen by 475 basis points in the last 13 months, reaching 5% from 0.25% following the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020.
While it is too early to predict what the Fed will do at its next rate meeting in May, some analysts are pricing in another 25 basis point raise based on March's reasonably steady employment growth, which was just 100,000 below February's level.
