Interest rates may be on track to see another rise in the immediate months to come.
James Bullard, the president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve, remarked that those rates could be upped by at least 1.5% as part of a larger struggle to reign in inflation.
Speaking during a conference in New York, Bullard also remarked that if inflation fails to decrease in the foreseeable future, the higher interest rates will remain in place longer than originally anticipated.
Overall, Bullard remarked that he wants to see rates by the end of the year in the 3.7% to 4% range. The rate is currently in the 2.2% to 2.5% range.
Although a revived Build Back Better bill may be heading for passage in the U.S. Senate, Bullard said he thought a massive stimulus coming out of Washington “appears less likely going forward.”
Bullard has long been concerned about the specter of inflation, and publicly warned last year about the danger of what has now turned out to be the most significant rise in inflation since the final year of the presidency of Jimmy Carter when it reached around 14%.
As of July, the country’s inflation rate stood at 9.1%.
In a separate interview with the tv program Squawk Box, Bullard said of the increased interest rates: “I think we’ll probably have to be higher for longer in order to get the evidence we need that inflation is actually turning around on all dimensions and in a convincing way becoming lower, not just a tick here and there.”
By Garry Boulard
