Fed Officials Beat Inflation Drum; 50-Basis-Point Rate Hike 'Reasonable' Next Month

• Federal Reserve officials voiced their determination again on Wednesday, August 3, 2022, to rein in high inflation. However, one noted a half-percentage-point hike in the U.S. central bank's key interest rate next month might be enough to march on toward that goal.
• San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said in an interview with Reuters, "if we just see inflation roaring ahead undauntedly, the labour market showing no signs of slowing, then we'll be in a different position where a 75-basis-point increase might be more appropriate. But I go in with the 50 in mind as I look at the data coming in."
• Whether the Fed will plough ahead with a third straight 75-basis-point rate hike at its Sept. 20-21 policy meeting - a pace unmatched in more than a generation - or dial back a bit is of central interest to investors, businesses, and consumers who are increasingly fearful that the central bank's inflation fight may trigger a recession.
• Several policymakers, including Daly, have shown stiffening resolve this week to continue the aggressive monetary tightening, with nearly all of them uniformly flagging that the central bank remains determined to press ahead with rate hikes until it sees strong and long-lasting evidence that inflation is on track back down to the Fed's 2% goal.

(Source: Reuters)