Federal Reserve Governor Waller turns hawkish! Says the probability of future rate hikes and cuts is now "fifty-fifty"

Federal Reserve Governor Waller made it clear that he supports clearly conveying to the public whether the central bank’s next move on interest rates will be an increase or a decrease, stating that, as of now, both possibilities are equally likely. Waller warned that if inflation fails to return to a downward path in the short term, he would not rule out the possibility of further rate hikes in the future. At the same time, he supports directly removing the current "easing bias" language from future Federal Reserve policy statements. Waller sees the current inflation outlook as the most crucial driver in determining monetary policy. He emphasized that, if there are signs that long-term inflation expectations among the public or the markets become "unanchored," he will not hesitate to support raising the target range for the federal funds rate.