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

Odaily reported that 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, with the intensifying tensions in oil supply and the threat of persistent inflation, he realized that more cautious measures were needed until the impact of the Iran war becomes clear. Fed Governor Waller said that when the latest employment report showed a loss of 92,000 jobs last month, "I thought at the time, it's over, 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 an extended period. So this suggests that the inflation issue is more concerning," and its duration will depend on the extent and duration of the rise in energy prices. (Jin10)