Fed's Waller: December cut is appropriate, but action in January more uncertain given coming data - Fox Business

WASHINGTON: Available data indicate the U.S. job market remains weak enough to warrant another quarter-point rate interest rate cut at the U.S. Federal Reserve's December 9-10 meeting, though action beyond that will depend on an upcoming "flood" of data issued as U.S. statistical agencies catch up with work delayed by the recently ended government shutdown, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on Monday.

Since the last Fed meeting "most of the private sector and anecdotal data that we've gotten is that nothing has really changed. The labor market is soft. It's continuing to weaken," with inflation expected to ease, Waller said on Fox Business' Mornings with Maria.

While that makes a December cut appropriate "January could be a little trickier, because we're going to get a flood of data that's released, and if it is kind of consistent with what we've seen, then you can make the case for January. But if it suddenly shows a rebound in inflation or jobs or the economy's taking off, then it might give concern," Waller said.