US Federal Reserve Governor Chris Waller has joined a growing group of policymakers calling for the central bank to signal that its next move may not necessarily be an interest rate cut as inflation pressures remain elevated, AFP reported.The comments come as the US economy continues to grapple with stubborn price pressures, with consumer inflation reaching a three-year high in April amid rising energy prices linked to the ongoing Iran conflict.In prepared remarks for a lecture in Frankfurt on Friday, Waller said: “Inflation is not headed in the right direction.”“Based on this recent data, I would support removing the ‘easing bias’ language in our policy statement to make it clear that a rate cut is no more likely in the future than a rate increase,” he added.Waller, however, said this did not imply an immediate move towards higher rates.He said he did not expect interest rate increases “in the near future” and added that he would support a pause on policy changes “for the near term”.The US Federal Reserve had kept rates unchanged at its Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in late April, though policymakers were divided over the future policy path.According to AFP, three Fed regional presidents had backed removing the easing-bias language, while one governor had supported a rate cut. Following Waller’s comments, one-third of the 12-member rate-setting committee now supports the proposed shift in language.Incoming Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh, who is due to be sworn in on Friday, has previously supported rate cuts and is expected to lead a divided committee at the next policy meeting in June.Waller said the future direction of inflation could depend significantly on developments in West Asia.“It is time to simply sit and watch how the conflict and the data evolve,” he said.
