Fed Governor Waller agrees the central bank can 'proceed carefully' on interest rates

cnbc.com:

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Tuesday that the recent round of strong economic data will buy the central bank some time as it decides whether additional interest rate hikes are needed to control inflation.

«That was a hell of a good week of data we got last week, and the key thing out if it is it's going to allow us to proceed carefully,» Waller told CNBC's Steve Liesman during a "Squawk Box" interview. «We can just sit there, wait for the data, see if things continue.»

Highlighting those data points was Friday's nonfarm payrolls report, which showed better-than-expected growth of 187,000 jobs in August while average hourly earnings rose just 0.2% for the month, lower than forecast.

Earlier in the week, other reports showed that the Fed's preferred inflation gauge rose just 0.2% in July, and that job openings, a key measure of labor market tightness, fell to their lowest level since March 2021.

«The biggest thing is just inflation,» Waller said. «We got two good reports in a row.» The key now is to «see whether this low inflation is a trend or if it was just an outlier or a fluke.»

Waller is generally considered one of the more hawkish members of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, meaning he has favored tighter monetary policy and higher interest rates as the central bank battles inflation that in the summer of 2022 was running at its highest rate in more than 40 years.

While he was encouraged by the recent reports on where prices are trending, he said they also indicate that the Fed can afford to hold rates higher until it is sure inflation is on the run.

«That depends on the data,» Waller said when asked whether the rate increases can stop. «We have to wait and see if this inflation