The central bank governor said that while the recent uptick in inflation does raise concerns that price growth could get stuck above the Fed’s 2% goal, he doesn’t want to overreact.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Monday he is anticipating an interest rate cut in December but is concerned about recent trends on inflation. Waller cited recent data indicating that progress on inflation may be "stalling.

A further quarter-point cut in December has been expected, but recent inflation data raised concern that progress may have stalled. One key measure, the personal consumption expenditures price index stripped of food and energy costs, has been mired in a range from 2.6% to 2.8% since May, well above the Fed's 2% target.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Monday that as of today, he supports an interest-rate cut at the central bank’s next meeting in a little over two weeks.

Consumer inflation accelerated in October 2024. However, the odds of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut on December 18 are still high.

"Unemployment is going to come down, growth is going to come up, inflation is going to come up," Deutsche Bank's chief US economist said.

The labor market, while slowing, remains resilient. Initial claims – an established predictor of changes in the level of unemployment – have been trending downward. The four-week moving average of initial claims has been falling since Oct.

Powell just a week after the meeting said the economy was "not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates."

The account of the central bank’s Nov. 6-7 meeting, released on Tuesday, showed that Fed officials still planned to cut interest rates further. But with the job market holding up better than expected and the economy growing at a solid clip, they are in no rush to slash them rapidly.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said Monday more interest-rate cuts will be needed, but that the right timing would depend on upcoming data.