Recently, there has been a heated debate in the United States about whether interest rates should be lowered, with hawks and doves stirring up the market with their differing opinions. On March 27, U.S. time, Governor Christopher Waller finally stepped forward to share his view, stating there is no rush to cut interest rates now. The recent economic data provide reasons to delay or reduce the number of rate cuts this year.
His perspective is that inflation data has gradually improved in recent times, the economy has seen notable improvements, and the employment rate has also increased. Therefore, the Federal Reserve now has more room to wait and see. Of course, he didn't categorically say that rates shouldn't be lowered, but instead suggested that reducing the number of rate cuts and postponing them would be more appropriate.
Since last July, the Federal Reserve's interest rates have remained at a near 20-year high, a stance which is now widely considered to be no longer suitable. Hence, there has been widespread discussion about lowering rates. In his latest speech, Waller used the word "no rush" four times, including in the title of his speech—“There's Still No Rush.”
There remains significant debate over how many times to cut interest rates, with opinions within the Federal Reserve itself ranging from three times to none. Some officials even believe there could be more than three rate cuts; while Raphael Bostic, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, has stated more than once that he expects only one rate cut this year.
The debate over the number of rate cuts is only part of the controversy. There is also concern over how substantial the initial rate cut should be—whether it should happen in one go or be broken down into several smaller cuts, with opinions remaining divided.
