WASHINGTON (UNITED STATES) (ITALPRESS) – The GeoEconomics Center of the Atlantic Council hosted Christopher J.Waller, governor of the Federal Reserve, who outlined his vision for promoting the U.S. financial system in the context of a changing global economy. “Historically, the financial sector has always played the goal of renewal, and as the country grew geographically everything became more difficult, so we needed to coordinate and create a national payment system, and when that happened we moved to make it safe and efficient throughout the United States,” Waller said. Progress and technology change over time the speed at which we make payments, and that only increases our reponsibilities.” During his speech Waller also focused on the development of new domestic and cross-border payment systems. Back in early January, Waller had made known his optimism about the possibility of inflation approaching the 2 percent target set by the Federal Reserve for 2025. According to the senior Fed official, any tariffs that might be imposed in the future by the Trump administration do not pose a threat to inflation. These are noteworthy remarks as the U.S. financial markets in recent months have been sluggish precisely because of fears that inflation may continue to be a problem despite the slight decline in recent months. Manufacturers tend to raise prices for customers to offset the increased costs of tariffs on materials and imported goods. According to Waller, further interest rate cuts could take place if there is progress on the path toward the 2 percent target. The latest data reported inflation to be around 2.4 percent in November. In this regard, the Fed official argued that outside of the housing sector, which is difficult to decipher, prices in the U.S. are beginning to cool. Waller’s remarks are currently at odds with growing expectations on Wall Street that the Fed may not cut interest rates in the current year, with high prices persisting. The rate is currently about 4.3 percent after several cuts during 2024. Financial markets expect only one rate cut in 2025. During his speech at the Atlantic Council, Waller was vague about the possibility of implementing future interest rate cuts, saying that such a decision depends on the reduction of inflation and the impact of President Donald Trump’s economic policy.- photo xp6 Italpress – (ITALPRESS)
