Federal Reserve Governor Waller: "Emergency Withdrawal" of Rate Cut Vote Due to Oil Price Surge

Odaily News Federal Reserve Governor Waller stated that, given the unexpected unemployment situation in February, he had originally planned to vote in favor of a rate cut at this week's central bank meeting. However, as tensions in oil supply intensify and the threat of persistent inflation looms, he realized that more cautious measures are needed until the impact of the Iran war becomes clear. Federal Reserve Governor Waller said that when the latest employment report showed a loss of 92,000 jobs last month, "I thought at the time, that's it, I disagree with the Fed's decision this week to keep rates unchanged." But "since then, the Strait of Hormuz has been blocked. This seems to indicate that the conflict will last longer, and oil prices will remain high for a longer period. So this suggests that the inflation problem is more concerning," and its duration will depend on the extent and persistence of the rise in energy prices. (Jin10)